In the late 1980s, I was embarking on a backpacking trip to the European continent with a companion. Since my travel mate was interested in enrolling in graduate studies in New York, we had booked a fortnight visit there before heading to London.
We reached the student accommodation, a big 10-storey building on the Upper West Side called International House. Setting down our luggage, we headed straight to the cafeteria, where we picked up meals, took a seat, and started talking to other diners.
Sitting next to me was an Iraqi man enrolled in an engineering program at a prestigious New York university. He wanted to know what I my profession was, and I told him that I had newly finished with a science degree and had been working on studies using an electron microscope.
He mentioned that there was an electron microscope unit at the university – adjacent to the school of engineering, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He suggested that I consider applying for a position with them. I laughed it off, telling him that I was soon departing to Europe and, more critically, I lacked a US visa.
A day later I went out exploring, returning to the canteen that evening. The engineering student walked over to me and told me that he had set up a meeting for me with the director of the microscopy lab at Columbia. Because he had taken the effort, I went to the meeting – but immediately informed my host that I was without a work permit, so I was likely not a suitable candidate.
Reflecting the city's spirit – a place where opportunities abound – she said: “That can be arranged. How soon can you begin?” I didn't board the aircraft to London.
I held that position for a trio of years. One of the benefits was that I was granted complimentary education at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to earn a postgrad program in international relations.
I never saw that student again and I am unaware of his full name, but his remarkable generosity transformed my future in multiple respects. I didn't possess the bravery or self-assurance to contact anyone at an elite institution and request employment. Additionally, I had consistently hoped to pursue education overseas, but lacked the financial means without that educational benefit.
Critically, that job in New York led me to a job in Zurich where I met my handsome spouse from France, with whom I currently share four wonderful sons and daughters. That encounter altered everything. That kind stranger set me on a different course in life, and I’m eternally thankful.
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