During the closing decade of the 80s, I set out on a backpacking trip to the European continent with a travel partner. Since my travel mate was interested in enrolling in graduate studies in the Big Apple, we had arranged a fortnight visit there before heading to London.
We reached the graduate housing, a large 10-storey building on the UWS called International House. Once we unpacked, we headed straight to the cafeteria, where we picked up meals, sat down, and started talking to other diners.
Adjacent to my seat was an gentleman from Iraq studying engineering at an Ivy League institution. He inquired what I did for a living, and I explained that I had just graduated with a degree in science and had been conducting research with electron microscopy.
He pointed out that there was an electron microscope unit at the institution – right next door to the engineering faculty, which was how he knew about it. He suggested that I should apply for a position with them. I chuckled at the suggestion, telling him that I was soon departing to Europe and, even more importantly, I lacked a US visa.
A day later I toured the city, coming back to the dining hall that night. The man from Iraq approached me and told me that he had arranged an interview for me with the director of the microscopy lab at Columbia. Given that he had taken the effort, I attended the interview – but straight off told my interviewer that I lacked the necessary visa, so I was probably wasting her time.
Reflecting the city's spirit – a city where everything seems achievable – she responded: “That can be arranged. When can you start?” I missed my plane to London.
I held that position for 36 months. An advantage of the role was that I got free tuition at Columbia, and I seized the chance to finish a graduate degree in global studies.
I lost touch with him and I don’t even know his identity, but his incredible act of kindness altered my destiny in numerous aspects. I lacked the confidence or nerve to contact anyone at an Ivy League university and seek a position. And, I had always wanted to pursue education overseas, but could never have afforded it without that free tuition.
Perhaps most importantly, that role at the university resulted in a job in Zurich where I encountered my handsome spouse from France, with whom I currently share a family of four kids. This was a pivotal life event. That kind stranger set me on a different course in life, and I’m always appreciative.
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