During the closing decade of the 80s, I set out on a low-cost journey to the European continent with a travel partner. Because my companion was interested in enrolling in graduate studies in New York, we had planned a fortnight visit there en route to London.
We got to the graduate housing, a sizeable ten-floor structure on the Upper West Side called International House. Setting down our luggage, we went directly to the cafeteria, where we grabbed food, sat down, and began chatting with fellow residents.
Sitting next to me was an gentleman from Iraq enrolled in an engineering program at a prestigious New York university. He inquired what I my profession was, and I explained that I had just graduated with a science degree and had been conducting research with electron microscopy.
He mentioned that there was an research lab at the university – close to the school of engineering, which was why he was aware of it. He proposed that I consider applying for a position with them. I dismissed the idea, telling him that I was about to fly to Europe and, additionally, I lacked a US visa.
A day later I toured the city, going back to the cafeteria that after dark. The engineering student walked over to me and let me know that he had organized a discussion for me with the leader of the research team at Columbia. Given that he had taken the effort, I showed up for the discussion – but right away informed my prospective employer that I was without a work permit, so I was unable to accept the role.
In typical New York fashion – a city where everything seems achievable – she responded: “We'll handle it. When can you start?” I never got on that flight to London.
I was employed there for three years. A perk of the job was that I got free tuition at Columbia, and I seized the chance to earn a postgrad program in international relations.
I never saw that student again and I don’t even know his identity, but his remarkable generosity altered my destiny in so many ways. I lacked the courage or nerve to contact anyone at an Ivy League university and request employment. Moreover, I had consistently hoped to take classes in another country, but lacked the financial means without that free tuition.
Perhaps most importantly, that job in New York resulted in a job in Zurich where I got to know my handsome spouse from France, with whom I am raising four wonderful sons and daughters. That encounter altered everything. That helpful person set me on a different course in life, and I’m forever grateful.
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