During the final years of the 1980s, I was embarking on a budget travel adventure to Europe with a travel partner. Because my companion was considering starting a postgraduate program in New York, we had planned a 14-day stopover there before heading to London.
We reached the student accommodation, a large 10-storey building on the UWS named International House. Once we unpacked, we headed straight to the dining hall, where we got some food, sat down, and began chatting with fellow residents.
Beside me was an gentleman from Iraq studying engineering at a prestigious New York university. He inquired what I did for a living, and I shared that I had just graduated with a degree in science and had been working on studies with electron microscopy.
He mentioned that there was an microscopy facility at the institution – close to the school of engineering, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He recommended that I consider applying for a position with them. I dismissed the idea, telling him that I was soon departing to Europe and, even more importantly, I did not possess a US visa.
The next day I ventured out, coming back to the dining hall that night. The engineering student came up to me and told me that he had arranged an interview for me with the head of the electron microscope unit at Columbia. Because he had taken the effort, I showed up for the discussion – but right away informed my host that I lacked the necessary visa, so I was probably wasting her time.
In typical New York fashion – a metropolis where opportunities abound – she declared: “That can be arranged. 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 was granted no-cost classes at Columbia, and I took advantage to earn a master’s of international affairs.
I never saw that student again and I don’t even know his name, but his incredible act of kindness transformed my future in multiple respects. I would never have had the bravery or self-assurance to approach someone at an elite institution and ask for a job. And, I had consistently hoped to take classes in another country, but could never have afforded it without that tuition waiver.
What's more, that job in New York paved the way for 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 helpful person redirected my path in life, and I’m forever grateful.
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