During the closing decade of the 80s, I set out on a backpacking trip to the European continent with a travel partner. Since my friend was exploring pursuing a master’s degree in the Big Apple, we had arranged a two-week stay there en route to London.
We arrived at the student accommodation, a large ten-floor structure on the Manhattan's Upper West Side named International House. Once we unpacked, we went directly to the cafeteria, where we picked up meals, found a table, and began chatting with people eating there.
Sitting next to me was an Iraqi man studying engineering at Columbia University. He wanted to know what I did, and I shared that I had recently completed my studies with a science degree and had been performing experiments using an electron microscope.
He pointed out that there was an electron microscope unit at the institution – adjacent to the engineering department, which was why he was aware of it. He recommended that I ought to seek a job with them. I laughed it off, telling him that I was soon departing to Europe and, more critically, I didn’t have a US visa.
The next day I went out exploring, going back to the cafeteria that night. The man from Iraq approached me and informed me that he had organized a discussion for me with the leader of the research team at Columbia. Because he had gone to the trouble, I went to the meeting – but right away explained to my interviewer that I didn’t have a visa, so I was unable to accept the role.
As is common in NYC – a metropolis where opportunities abound – she said: “That can be arranged. How soon can you begin?” I never got on that flight to London.
I held that position for three years. One of the benefits was that I also received no-cost classes at Columbia, and I seized the chance to earn a master’s of international affairs.
I never saw that student again and I am unaware of his full name, but his incredible act of kindness transformed my future in numerous aspects. I lacked the confidence or nerve to contact anyone at an Ivy League university and seek a position. Moreover, I had long dreamed to pursue education overseas, but could never have afforded it without that free tuition.
What's more, that job in New York paved the way for a job in Zurich where I encountered my wonderful partner, with whom I now have a family of four kids. It was a total sliding doors moment. That kind stranger changed my trajectory in life, and I’m forever grateful.
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