In the final years of the 1980s, I was embarking on a backpacking trip to the European continent with a friend. Because my friend was considering starting a postgraduate program in the Big Apple, we had arranged a two-week stay there before heading to London.
We reached the graduate housing, a big ten-floor structure on the Upper West Side known as International House. After dropping our bags, we went directly to the canteen, where we picked up meals, took a seat, and began chatting with fellow residents.
Adjacent to my seat was an individual of Iraqi origin enrolled in an engineering program at an Ivy League institution. He asked me what I did, and I told him that I had recently completed my studies with a science degree and had been conducting research involving microscopic analysis.
He mentioned that there was an electron microscope unit at the institution – adjacent to the engineering faculty, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He recommended that I consider applying for a job with them. I chuckled at the suggestion, explaining that I was soon departing to Europe and, additionally, I didn’t have a US visa.
A day later I went out exploring, returning to the canteen that night. The engineering student walked over to me and informed me that he had arranged an interview for me with the head of the electron microscope unit at Columbia. Since he had taken the effort, I went to the meeting – but straight off informed my prospective employer that I was without a work permit, so I was likely not a suitable candidate.
As is common in NYC – a place where everything seems achievable – she declared: “We can make that happen. How soon can you begin?” I never got on that flight to London.
I was employed there for 36 months. A perk of the job was that I got free tuition at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to earn a graduate degree in global studies.
I lost touch with him and I don’t even know his identity, but his remarkable generosity transformed my future in numerous aspects. I didn't possess the courage or nerve to contact anyone at an Ivy League university and ask for a job. Additionally, I had always wanted to pursue education overseas, but lacked the financial means without that tuition waiver.
Perhaps most importantly, that job in New York paved the way for a job in Zurich where I encountered my wonderful partner, with whom I currently share four amazing children. It was a total sliding doors moment. That kind stranger changed my trajectory in life, and I’m always appreciative.
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