In the late 1980s, I was embarking on a backpacking trip to the European continent with a friend. Because my travel mate was considering pursuing a master’s degree in the Big Apple, we had arranged a two-week stay there on the way to London.
We arrived at the postgrad residence, a big multi-story edifice on the Upper West Side known as International House. After dropping our bags, we went directly to the cafeteria, where we picked up meals, sat down, and started talking to fellow residents.
Sitting next to me was an gentleman from Iraq enrolled in an engineering program at Columbia University. He inquired what I my profession was, and I shared that I had newly finished with a degree in science and had been working on studies using an electron microscope.
He mentioned that there was an electron microscope unit at the institution – close to the engineering department, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He recommended that I ought to seek a role with them. I chuckled at the suggestion, explaining that I was about to fly to Europe and, even more importantly, I did not possess a US visa.
The next day I went out exploring, coming back to the dining hall that after dark. The engineering student walked over to me and told me that he had organized a discussion for me with the director of the microscopy lab at Columbia. Since he had made the arrangement, I attended the interview – but right away told my prospective employer that I lacked the necessary visa, so I was likely not a suitable candidate.
In typical New York fashion – a place where opportunities abound – she declared: “We can make that happen. When can you start?” I didn't board the aircraft to London.
I worked there for 36 months. A perk of the job was that I also received free tuition at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to finish a postgrad program in international relations.
We didn't cross paths after that and I don’t even know his full name, but his selfless gesture changed my life in multiple respects. I lacked the confidence or nerve to contact anyone at an Ivy League university and ask for a job. Additionally, I had long dreamed to take classes in another country, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that educational benefit.
What's more, that job in New York paved the way for a job in Zurich where I met my wonderful partner, with whom I now have a family of four kids. It was a total sliding doors moment. That helpful person set me on a different course in life, and I’m eternally thankful.
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