During the late 1980s, I set out on a backpacking trip to the European continent with a companion. Because my travel mate was interested in starting a postgraduate program in the Big Apple, we had arranged a fortnight visit there on the way to London.
We reached the student accommodation, a sizeable multi-story edifice on the Upper West Side called International House. Once we unpacked, we headed straight to the dining hall, where we grabbed food, sat down, and engaged in conversation with people eating there.
Sitting next to me was an gentleman from Iraq pursuing an engineering degree at Columbia University. He asked me what I did, and I shared that I had newly finished with a scientific background and had been working on studies with electron microscopy.
He mentioned that there was an electron microscope unit at Columbia University – adjacent to the engineering faculty, which was why he was aware of it. He proposed that I should apply for a position with them. I dismissed the idea, explaining that I was about to fly to Europe and, more critically, I didn’t have a US visa.
The following day I ventured out, coming back to the dining hall that evening. The engineering student approached me and told me that he had arranged an interview for me with the head of the electron microscope unit at Columbia. Given that he had gone to the trouble, I went to the meeting – but right away informed my host that I lacked the necessary visa, so I was likely not a suitable candidate.
In typical New York fashion – a place where anything feels possible – she said: “That can be arranged. How soon can you begin?” I never got on that flight 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 seized the chance to finish a postgrad program in international relations.
I lost touch with him and I don’t even know his name, but his incredible act of kindness changed my life in numerous aspects. I would never have had the courage or self-belief to approach someone at an Ivy League university and request employment. Moreover, I had always wanted to study abroad, but could never have afforded it without that tuition waiver.
What's more, that job in New York resulted in a role in Europe 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 benevolent individual changed my trajectory in life, and I’m eternally thankful.
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