During the final years of the 1980s, I set out on a backpacking trip to Europe with a travel partner. Because my companion was considering starting a postgraduate program in the Big Apple, we had planned a 14-day stopover there en route to London.
We arrived at the graduate housing, a large multi-story edifice on the Manhattan's Upper West Side known as International House. Once we unpacked, we headed straight to the canteen, where we got some food, took a seat, and engaged in conversation with people eating there.
Adjacent to my seat was an gentleman from Iraq studying engineering at a prestigious New York university. He inquired what I my profession was, and I shared that I had recently completed my studies with a degree in science and had been working on studies using an electron microscope.
He mentioned that there was an research lab at the university – adjacent to the engineering department, which was why he was aware of it. He suggested that I ought to seek a position with them. I dismissed the idea, saying that I was heading off to Europe and, more critically, I didn’t have a US visa.
A day later I toured the city, coming back to the dining hall that evening. The man from Iraq walked over to me and let me know that he had set up a meeting 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 told my prospective employer that I was without a work permit, so I was probably wasting her time.
As is common in NYC – a city where opportunities abound – she said: “That can be arranged. When can you start?” I never got on that flight to London.
I held that position for three years. An advantage of the role was that I also received complimentary education at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to complete a graduate degree in global studies.
We didn't cross paths after that and I can't recall his name, but his remarkable generosity transformed my future in so many ways. I lacked the bravery or self-belief to contact anyone at an prestigious college and request employment. Additionally, I had always wanted to study abroad, but lacked the financial means without that free tuition.
What's more, that role at the university 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. That encounter altered everything. That helpful person set me on a different course in life, and I’m eternally thankful.
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