In the late 1980s, I set out on a low-cost journey to the European continent with a friend. Since my travel mate was exploring enrolling in graduate studies in the Big Apple, we had booked a fortnight visit there en route to London.
We got to the postgrad residence, a sizeable multi-story edifice on the Upper West Side named International House. Setting down our luggage, we made our way to the dining hall, where we picked up meals, took a seat, and started talking to other diners.
Beside me was an gentleman from Iraq enrolled in an engineering program at a prestigious New York university. He wanted to know what I my profession was, and I explained that I had just graduated with a science degree and had been working on studies with electron microscopy.
He noted that there was an research lab at the institution – right next door to the engineering faculty, which was why he was aware of it. He proposed that I should apply for a job with them. I chuckled at the suggestion, telling him that I was soon departing to Europe and, even more importantly, I didn’t have a US visa.
The next day I went out exploring, coming back to the dining hall that after dark. The engineering student walked over to me and told me that he had set up a meeting for me with the director of the microscopy lab at Columbia. Because he had made the arrangement, I showed up for the discussion – but right away informed my prospective employer that I didn’t have a visa, so I was unable to accept the role.
In typical New York fashion – a metropolis where everything seems achievable – she said: “We'll handle it. What's your start date?” I missed my plane to London.
I was employed there for a trio of years. A perk of the job was that I was granted complimentary education at Columbia, and I took advantage to finish a master’s of international affairs.
I lost touch with him and I don’t even know his name, but his remarkable generosity changed my life in so many ways. I would never have had the bravery or nerve to contact anyone at an prestigious college and seek a position. Moreover, I had long dreamed to take classes in another country, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that tuition waiver.
Perhaps most importantly, that job in New York resulted in a position in Switzerland where I met my handsome spouse from France, with whom I am raising four amazing children. That encounter altered everything. That kind stranger redirected my path in life, and I’m forever grateful.
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