During the final years of the 1980s, I was embarking on a backpacking trip to Europe with a travel partner. Since my companion was exploring pursuing a master’s degree in the Big Apple, we had arranged a fortnight visit there before heading to London.
We arrived at the student accommodation, a large multi-story edifice on the Manhattan's Upper West Side known as International House. After dropping our bags, we made our way to the dining hall, where we grabbed food, sat down, and began chatting with fellow residents.
Beside me was an gentleman from Iraq enrolled in an engineering program at an Ivy League institution. He wanted to know what I did for a living, and I shared that I had newly finished with a science degree and had been conducting research with electron microscopy.
He noted that there was an research lab at Columbia University – close to the school of engineering, which was how he knew about it. He recommended that I ought to seek a job with them. I dismissed the idea, telling him that I was soon departing to Europe and, even more importantly, I did not possess a US visa.
The next day I ventured out, returning to the canteen that night. The engineering student approached me and told me that he had organized a discussion for me with the director of the microscopy lab at Columbia. Since he had taken the effort, I attended the interview – but immediately informed my prospective employer that I didn’t have a visa, so I was likely not a suitable candidate.
In typical New York fashion – a place where opportunities abound – she responded: “We can make that happen. How soon can you begin?” I missed my plane to London.
I held that position for a trio of years. A perk of the job was that I was granted free tuition at Columbia, and I seized the chance to complete a master’s of international affairs.
We didn't cross paths after that and I am unaware of his full name, but his selfless gesture changed my life in numerous aspects. I would never have had the courage or self-belief to contact anyone at an Ivy League university and request employment. And, I had long dreamed to study abroad, but lacked the financial means without that tuition waiver.
Critically, that role at the university 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 helpful person set me on a different course in life, and I’m forever grateful.
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