In the closing decade of the 80s, I was beginning a backpacking trip to the European continent with a friend. Because my friend was considering starting a postgraduate program in NYC, we had planned a two-week stay there en route to London.
We arrived at the student accommodation, a big ten-floor structure on the Upper West Side called International House. Once we unpacked, we made our way to the cafeteria, where we grabbed food, took a seat, and started talking to people eating there.
Sitting next to me was an individual of Iraqi origin enrolled in an engineering program at a prestigious New York university. He inquired what I my profession was, and I shared that I had newly finished with a science degree and had been working on studies involving microscopic analysis.
He pointed out that there was an research lab at the university – close to the engineering faculty, which was how he knew about it. He recommended that I ought to seek a job with them. I laughed it off, saying that I was about to fly to Europe and, additionally, I lacked a US visa.
The following day I toured the city, returning to the canteen that after dark. The man from Iraq walked over to me and let me know that he had arranged an interview for me with the director of the microscopy lab at Columbia. Because he had gone to the trouble, I went to the meeting – but straight off told my interviewer that I lacked the necessary visa, so I was unable to accept the role.
In typical New York fashion – a city where everything seems achievable – she declared: “We'll handle it. When can you start?” I never got on that flight to London.
I worked there for 36 months. One of the benefits was that I was granted free tuition at Columbia, and I took advantage to finish a postgrad program in international relations.
I never saw that student again and I don’t even know his name, but his selfless gesture altered my destiny in multiple respects. I would never have had the courage or self-belief to approach someone at an elite institution and ask for a job. Additionally, I had consistently hoped to study abroad, but lacked the financial means without that free tuition.
Perhaps most importantly, that role at the university led me to a role in Europe where I encountered my handsome spouse from France, with whom I currently share four wonderful sons and daughters. It was a total sliding doors moment. That helpful person changed my trajectory in life, and I’m eternally thankful.
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