In the final years of the 1980s, I was embarking on a budget travel adventure to Europe with a companion. Because my companion was considering pursuing a master’s degree in NYC, we had planned a two-week stay there before heading to London.
We arrived at the student accommodation, a sizeable ten-floor structure on the Upper West Side called International House. Once we unpacked, we headed straight to the dining hall, where we got some food, took a seat, and started talking to people eating there.
Adjacent to my seat was an individual of Iraqi origin pursuing an engineering degree at a prestigious New York university. He wanted to know what I did for a living, and I told him that I had recently completed my studies with a science degree and had been working on studies involving microscopic analysis.
He noted that there was an research lab at Columbia University – adjacent to the engineering faculty, which was how he knew about it. He recommended that I consider applying for a position with them. I laughed it off, explaining that I was soon departing to Europe and, more critically, I didn’t have a US visa.
A day later I went out exploring, coming back to the dining hall that evening. The man from Iraq walked over to me and informed me that he had organized a discussion for me with the leader of the research team at Columbia. Because he had taken the effort, I attended the interview – but straight off told my interviewer that I was without a work permit, so I was probably wasting her time.
Reflecting the city's spirit – a city where anything feels possible – she responded: “We can make that happen. When can you start?” I never got on that flight to London.
I was employed there for three years. An advantage of the role was that I was granted complimentary education at Columbia, and I took advantage to earn a postgrad program in international relations.
I never saw that student again and I can't recall his name, but his incredible act of kindness altered my destiny in multiple respects. I lacked the courage or self-assurance to reach out at an Ivy League university and request employment. Additionally, I had always wanted to pursue education overseas, but could never have afforded it without that educational benefit.
What's more, that job in New York paved the way for a role in Europe where I met my handsome spouse from France, with whom I currently share a family of four kids. That encounter altered everything. That kind stranger changed my trajectory in life, and I’m forever grateful.
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