During the final years of the 1980s, I set out on a backpacking trip to the European continent with a companion. Because my companion was considering enrolling in graduate studies in the Big Apple, we had arranged a two-week stay there before heading to London.
We reached the graduate housing, a big multi-story edifice on the Manhattan's Upper West Side called International House. Setting down our luggage, we went directly to the canteen, where we picked up meals, sat down, and began chatting with people eating there.
Beside me was an Iraqi man pursuing an engineering degree 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 working on studies with electron microscopy.
He pointed out that there was an electron microscope unit at Columbia University – close to the engineering faculty, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He proposed that I ought to seek a role with them. I chuckled at the suggestion, saying that I was about to fly to Europe and, more critically, I did not possess a US visa.
A day later I went out exploring, returning to the canteen that evening. The engineering student approached me and informed me that he had organized a discussion for me with the head of the electron microscope unit at Columbia. Since he had taken the effort, I went to the meeting – but immediately informed my prospective employer that I didn’t have a visa, so I was likely not a suitable candidate.
Reflecting the city's spirit – a metropolis where opportunities abound – she said: “We can make that happen. When can you start?” I didn't board the aircraft to London.
I worked there for 36 months. One of the benefits was that I was granted no-cost classes at Columbia, and I seized the chance to earn a graduate degree in global studies.
I never saw that student again and I am unaware of his full name, but his remarkable generosity changed my life in multiple respects. I didn't possess the bravery or nerve to approach someone at an prestigious college and seek a position. Additionally, I had always wanted to study abroad, but could never have afforded it without that free tuition.
Perhaps most importantly, that job in New York led me to a role in Europe where I met my handsome spouse from France, with whom I am raising a family of four kids. This was a pivotal life event. That benevolent individual changed my trajectory in life, and I’m always appreciative.
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