In the late 1980s, I was embarking on a low-cost journey to the European continent with a travel partner. Because my friend was interested in pursuing a master’s degree in NYC, we had arranged a fortnight visit there en route to London.
We reached the graduate housing, a sizeable 10-storey building on the Manhattan's Upper West Side known as International House. Once we unpacked, we made our way to the dining hall, where we picked up meals, sat down, and started talking to people eating there.
Adjacent to my seat was an gentleman from Iraq pursuing an engineering degree at an Ivy League institution. He asked me what I did for a living, and I explained that I had recently completed my studies with a degree in science and had been working on studies involving microscopic analysis.
He pointed out that there was an research lab at Columbia University – close to the engineering department, which was why he was aware of it. He recommended that I should apply for a role with them. I dismissed the idea, explaining that I was soon departing to Europe and, additionally, I lacked a US visa.
The following day I ventured out, coming back to the dining hall that after dark. The Iraqi student came up to me and told me that he had set up a meeting for me with the director of the microscopy lab at Columbia. Since he had taken the effort, I attended the interview – but immediately told my interviewer that I lacked the necessary visa, so I was unable to accept the role.
As is common in NYC – a place where opportunities abound – she said: “We can make that happen. When can you start?” I missed my plane to London.
I held that position for a trio of years. An advantage of the role was that I got no-cost classes at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to complete a master’s of international affairs.
I never saw that student again and I don’t even know his name, but his selfless gesture altered my destiny in so many ways. I lacked the confidence or nerve to contact anyone at an Ivy League university and request employment. And, I had always wanted to study abroad, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that tuition waiver.
Critically, that job in New York resulted in a job in Zurich where I encountered my handsome spouse from France, with whom I currently share a family of four kids. That encounter altered everything. That kind stranger redirected my path in life, and I’m forever grateful.
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