In the final years of the 1980s, I was beginning a backpacking trip to Europe with a companion. Since my friend was interested in starting a postgraduate program in New York, we had booked a two-week stay there en route to London.
We got to the graduate housing, a large multi-story edifice on the UWS known as International House. Once we unpacked, we headed straight to the canteen, where we grabbed food, found a table, and engaged in conversation with other diners.
Adjacent to my seat was an gentleman from Iraq pursuing an engineering degree at an Ivy League institution. He wanted to know what I did for a living, and I explained that I had newly finished with a science degree and had been performing experiments involving microscopic analysis.
He pointed out that there was an electron microscope unit at Columbia University – close to the engineering faculty, which was how he knew about it. He proposed that I ought to seek a position with them. I dismissed the idea, saying that I was soon departing to Europe and, additionally, I didn’t have a US visa.
The following day I ventured out, returning to the canteen that after dark. The man from Iraq came up to me and let me know that he had set up a meeting for me with the director of the microscopy lab at Columbia. Since he had taken the effort, I attended the interview – but straight off explained to my host that I lacked the necessary visa, so I was probably wasting her time.
As is common in NYC – a place where anything feels possible – she said: “That can be arranged. How soon can you begin?” I never got on that flight to London.
I held that position for 36 months. One of the benefits was that I got complimentary education at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to complete a graduate degree in global studies.
I lost touch with him and I don’t even know his name, but his selfless gesture altered my destiny in so many ways. I would never have had the bravery or self-belief to approach someone at an Ivy League university and seek a position. Additionally, I had consistently hoped to study abroad, but lacked the financial means without that free tuition.
What's more, that role at the university resulted in a job in Zurich where I got to know my wonderful partner, with whom I am raising a family of four kids. That encounter altered everything. That benevolent individual redirected my path in life, and I’m eternally thankful.
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