In the late 1980s, I was embarking on a low-cost journey to the European continent with a friend. Since my travel mate was considering enrolling in graduate studies in the Big Apple, we had arranged a two-week stay there on the way to London.
We arrived at the graduate housing, a sizeable 10-storey building on the Manhattan's Upper West Side known as International House. After dropping our bags, we headed straight to the canteen, where we got some food, took a seat, and started talking to people eating there.
Sitting next to me was an individual of Iraqi origin studying engineering at an Ivy League institution. He wanted to know what I did, and I explained that I had newly finished with a degree in science and had been conducting research involving microscopic analysis.
He noted that there was an research lab at the university – close to the school of engineering, which was how he knew about it. He proposed that I should apply for a job with them. I chuckled at the suggestion, telling him that I was heading off to Europe and, more critically, I lacked a US visa.
A day later I toured the city, coming back to the dining hall that night. The Iraqi student came up to me and informed me that he had arranged an interview for me with the leader of the research team at Columbia. Because he had taken the effort, I went to the meeting – but straight off informed my host that I lacked the necessary visa, so I was unable to accept the role.
Reflecting the city's spirit – a city where anything feels possible – she said: “We'll handle it. How soon can you begin?” I never got on that flight to London.
I was employed there for a trio of years. A perk of the job was that I was granted complimentary education at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to finish a graduate degree in global studies.
We didn't cross paths after that and I can't recall his name, but his remarkable generosity altered my destiny in multiple respects. I didn't possess the bravery or self-assurance to reach out at an prestigious college and ask for a job. And, I had consistently hoped to take classes in another country, but could never have afforded it without that tuition waiver.
What's more, that gig at Columbia paved the way for a role in Europe where I got to know my handsome spouse from France, with whom I now have a family of four kids. It was a total sliding doors moment. That kind stranger changed my trajectory in life, and I’m always appreciative.
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