In the final years of the 1980s, I was beginning a budget travel adventure to Europe with a travel partner. Since my travel mate was exploring starting a postgraduate program in New York, we had booked a fortnight visit there en route to London.
We arrived at the student accommodation, a sizeable multi-story edifice on the UWS called International House. After dropping our bags, we made our way to the dining hall, where we grabbed food, took a seat, and started talking to fellow residents.
Adjacent to my seat was an Iraqi man pursuing an engineering degree at Columbia University. He wanted to know what I did, and I told him that I had recently completed my studies with a scientific background and had been performing experiments involving microscopic analysis.
He noted that there was an research lab at the university – right next door to the engineering faculty, which was why he was aware of it. He proposed that I should apply for a job 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.
A day later I went out exploring, coming back to the dining hall that night. The Iraqi student came up to me and informed me that he had organized a discussion for me with the leader of the research team at Columbia. Because he had made the arrangement, I showed up for the discussion – but right away told my interviewer that I lacked the necessary visa, so I was probably wasting her time.
As is common in NYC – a city where everything seems achievable – she declared: “We'll handle it. How soon can you begin?” I missed my plane to London.
I was employed there for 36 months. One of the benefits was that I also received free tuition at Columbia, and I seized the chance to earn a postgrad program in international relations.
I never saw that student again and I don’t even know his name, but his remarkable generosity altered my destiny in multiple respects. I didn't possess the confidence or self-assurance to contact anyone at an prestigious college and ask for a job. Additionally, I had consistently hoped to study abroad, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that tuition waiver.
Perhaps most importantly, that role at the university resulted in a position in Switzerland where I got to know my handsome spouse from France, with whom I currently share four amazing children. It was a total sliding doors moment. That kind stranger set me on a different course in life, and I’m forever grateful.
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