During the final years of the 1980s, I set out on a backpacking trip to Europe with a travel partner. Because my companion was exploring enrolling in graduate studies in the Big Apple, we had arranged a fortnight visit there en route to London.
We arrived at the postgrad residence, a large 10-storey building on the Manhattan's Upper West Side known as International House. Once we unpacked, we headed straight to the cafeteria, where we picked up meals, sat down, and began chatting with other diners.
Sitting next to me was an gentleman from Iraq enrolled in an engineering program at a prestigious New York university. He wanted to know what I did for a living, and I explained that I had recently completed my studies with a degree in science and had been working on studies using an electron microscope.
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 consider applying for a job with them. I laughed it off, explaining that I was heading off to Europe and, even more importantly, I lacked a US visa.
A day later I ventured out, returning to the canteen that night. The man from Iraq came up to me and told me that he had set up a meeting for me with the director of the microscopy lab at Columbia. Given that he had gone to the trouble, I attended the interview – but straight off told my prospective employer that I lacked the necessary visa, so I was unable to accept the role.
In typical New York fashion – a place where everything seems achievable – she declared: “That can be arranged. When can you start?” I didn't board the aircraft to London.
I held that position for a trio of years. An advantage of the role was that I also received free tuition at Columbia, and I seized the chance to complete a master’s of international affairs.
I never saw that student again and I am unaware of his full name, but his selfless gesture transformed my future in so many ways. I would never have had the bravery or self-belief to reach out at an Ivy League university and ask for a job. And, I had always wanted to take classes in another country, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that free tuition.
What's more, that job in New York led me to a role in Europe where I encountered my wonderful partner, with whom I now have a family of four kids. That encounter altered everything. That benevolent individual redirected my path in life, and I’m always appreciative.
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