During the final years of the 1980s, I was beginning a backpacking trip to the European continent with a travel partner. Because my companion was exploring pursuing a master’s degree in the Big Apple, we had planned a two-week stay there en route to London.
We arrived at the student accommodation, a big 10-storey building on the Upper West Side known as International House. Once we unpacked, we went directly to the cafeteria, where we got some food, found a table, and engaged in conversation with fellow residents.
Sitting next to me was an Iraqi man studying engineering at Columbia University. He wanted to know what I did for a living, and I shared that I had just graduated with a scientific background and had been working on studies with electron microscopy.
He mentioned that there was an research lab at the institution – right next door to the engineering department, which was how he knew about it. He proposed that I ought to seek a role with them. I laughed it off, 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 Iraqi student walked over to me and informed me that he had organized a discussion for me with the leader of the research team at Columbia. Since he had made the arrangement, I showed up for the discussion – but right away explained to my host that I lacked the necessary visa, so I was unable to accept the role.
Reflecting the city's spirit – a city where anything feels possible – she said: “That can be arranged. How soon can you begin?” I didn't board the aircraft to London.
I was employed there for three years. A perk of the job was that I also received no-cost classes at Columbia, and I took advantage to finish a postgrad program in international relations.
We didn't cross paths after that and I can't recall his name, but his remarkable generosity transformed my future in so many ways. I lacked the courage or self-assurance to approach someone at an Ivy League university and request employment. 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.
Critically, that gig at Columbia led me to a job in Zurich where I got to know my wonderful partner, with whom I am raising a family of four kids. This was a pivotal life event. That kind stranger redirected my path in life, and I’m eternally thankful.
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