During the final years of the 1980s, I set out on a low-cost journey to the European continent with a friend. Since my friend was considering enrolling in graduate studies in NYC, we had arranged a fortnight visit there en route to London.
We got to the postgrad residence, a large ten-floor structure on the Manhattan's Upper West Side known as International House. Once we unpacked, we made our way to the dining hall, where we got some food, found a table, and engaged in conversation with other diners.
Beside me was an Iraqi man studying engineering at Columbia University. He asked me what I did for a living, and I shared that I had just graduated with a degree in science and had been performing experiments with electron microscopy.
He noted that there was an electron microscope unit at the university – close to the school of engineering, which was how he knew about it. He recommended that I should apply for a position with them. I dismissed the idea, explaining that I was heading off to Europe and, even more importantly, I lacked a US visa.
The following day I went out exploring, coming back to the dining hall that evening. The man from Iraq came up to me and informed me that he had set up a meeting for me with the leader of the research team at Columbia. Because he had made the arrangement, I attended the interview – but straight off informed my interviewer that I didn’t have a visa, so I was probably wasting her time.
Reflecting the city's spirit – a place where opportunities abound – she responded: “That can be arranged. What's your start date?” I missed my plane to London.
I held that position for 36 months. A perk of the job was that I also received complimentary education at Columbia, and I seized the chance to earn a postgrad program in international relations.
I lost touch with him and I am unaware of his name, but his remarkable generosity transformed my future in numerous aspects. I didn't possess the courage or self-belief to contact anyone at an elite institution and ask for a job. Moreover, I had long dreamed to study abroad, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that educational benefit.
Critically, that job in New York paved the way for a position in Switzerland where I got to know my wonderful partner, with whom I now have four wonderful sons and daughters. That encounter altered everything. That helpful person redirected my path in life, and I’m forever grateful.
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