During the closing decade of the 80s, I set out on a budget travel adventure to the European continent with a friend. Because my friend was exploring enrolling in graduate studies in New York, we had booked a fortnight visit there on the way to London.
We arrived at the student accommodation, a big multi-story edifice on the UWS known as International House. Setting down our luggage, we headed straight to the cafeteria, where we grabbed food, sat down, and began chatting with fellow residents.
Beside me was an individual of Iraqi origin enrolled in an engineering program at a prestigious New York university. He inquired what I did for a living, and I told him that I had newly finished with a scientific background and had been conducting research using an electron microscope.
He noted that there was an research lab at the university – right next door to the engineering faculty, which was how he knew about it. He proposed that I should apply for a role with them. I chuckled at the suggestion, telling him that I was soon departing to Europe and, more critically, I didn’t have a US visa.
The next day I went out exploring, coming back to the dining hall that evening. The Iraqi student walked over to me and let me know 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 attended the interview – but right away told my interviewer that I lacked the necessary visa, so I was likely not a suitable candidate.
As is common in NYC – a place where anything feels possible – she responded: “We can make that happen. When can you start?” I missed my plane to London.
I was employed there for 36 months. A perk of the job was that I was granted no-cost classes at Columbia, and I seized the chance to earn a postgrad program in international relations.
We didn't cross paths after that and I can't recall his name, but his selfless gesture altered my destiny in multiple respects. I lacked the confidence or self-belief to approach someone at an Ivy League university and ask for a job. And, I had consistently hoped to take classes in another country, but lacked the financial means without that free tuition.
Critically, that job in New York resulted in a role in Europe where I encountered my handsome spouse from France, with whom I now have four wonderful sons and daughters. It was a total sliding doors moment. That helpful person set me on a different course in life, and I’m eternally thankful.
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