In the closing decade of the 80s, I set out on a backpacking trip to Europe with a friend. Because my companion was exploring enrolling in graduate studies in New York, we had booked a two-week stay there before heading to London.
We got to the graduate housing, a big multi-story edifice on the Manhattan's Upper West Side called International House. Setting down our luggage, we headed straight to the cafeteria, where we grabbed food, found a table, and engaged in conversation with fellow residents.
Beside 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 conducting research using an electron microscope.
He mentioned that there was an research lab at the university – adjacent to the engineering department, which was how he knew about it. He recommended that I ought to seek a position with them. I laughed it off, telling him that I was soon departing to Europe and, additionally, I didn’t have a US visa.
A day later I toured the city, going back to the cafeteria that evening. The Iraqi student came up to me and let me know that he had organized a discussion for me with the director of the microscopy lab at Columbia. Given that he had made the arrangement, I went to the meeting – but straight off informed my host that I lacked the necessary visa, so I was probably wasting her time.
As is common in NYC – a city where anything feels possible – she responded: “We'll handle it. When can you start?” I didn't board the aircraft to London.
I held that position for three years. A perk of the job was that I got no-cost classes at Columbia, and I took advantage to complete a master’s of international affairs.
I never saw that student again and I can't recall his name, but his remarkable generosity altered my destiny in so many ways. I didn't possess the courage or self-assurance to contact anyone at an elite institution and request employment. Additionally, I had always wanted to study abroad, but lacked the financial means without that free tuition.
Critically, that role at the university resulted in a role in Europe where I encountered my wonderful partner, with whom I now have a family of four kids. This was a pivotal life event. That benevolent individual redirected my path in life, and I’m eternally thankful.
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