In the final years of the 1980s, I was beginning a low-cost journey to Europe with a companion. Since my companion was considering enrolling in graduate studies in New York, we had planned a two-week stay there on the way to London.
We got to the graduate housing, a big 10-storey building on the UWS known as International House. Setting down our luggage, we headed straight to the dining hall, where we got some food, took a seat, and engaged in conversation with fellow residents.
Adjacent to my seat was an Iraqi man pursuing an engineering degree at a prestigious New York university. He wanted to know what I did for a living, and I shared that I had recently completed my studies with a degree in science and had been working on studies with electron microscopy.
He noted that there was an electron microscope unit at the university – right next door to the engineering department, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He proposed that I ought to seek a role with them. I laughed it off, saying that I was soon departing to Europe and, more critically, I didn’t have a US visa.
The next day I toured the city, coming back to the dining hall that evening. The Iraqi student approached me and informed me that he had set up a meeting for me with the director of the microscopy lab at Columbia. Given that he had taken the effort, I showed up for the discussion – but straight off explained to my host that I lacked the necessary visa, so I was probably wasting her time.
In typical New York fashion – a metropolis where everything seems achievable – she declared: “We'll handle it. When can you start?” I missed my plane to London.
I held that position for 36 months. One of the benefits was that I got free tuition at Columbia, and I seized the chance to earn a graduate degree in global studies.
I never saw that student again and I don’t even know his full name, but his remarkable generosity altered my destiny in multiple respects. I didn't possess the courage or self-assurance to reach out at an elite institution and seek a position. Additionally, I had always wanted to study abroad, but could never have afforded it without that educational benefit.
Critically, that role at the university paved the way for a role in Europe where I encountered my wonderful partner, with whom I currently share four amazing children. This was a pivotal life event. That helpful person changed my trajectory in life, and I’m always appreciative.
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