An Generosity of Unknown Individuals: How a Gentleman I Had Just Met Assisted Me Secure the Role That Altered My Path

In the closing decade of the 80s, I set out on a low-cost journey to Europe with a companion. Because my travel mate was interested in starting a postgraduate program in NYC, we had arranged a fortnight visit there before heading to London.

We arrived at the student accommodation, a large multi-story edifice on the Upper West Side known as International House. Setting down our luggage, we made our way to the canteen, where we picked up meals, sat down, and started talking to fellow residents.

Beside me was an Iraqi man enrolled in an engineering program at Columbia University. He asked me what I did for a living, and I explained that I had just graduated with a scientific background and had been working on studies involving microscopic analysis.

He mentioned that there was an microscopy facility at Columbia University – right next door to the engineering faculty, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He suggested that I ought to seek a job with them. I dismissed the idea, telling him that I was heading off to Europe and, even more importantly, I didn’t have a US visa.

The following day I went out exploring, coming back to the dining hall that evening. The man from Iraq approached me and told me that he had organized a discussion for me with the leader of the research team at Columbia. Given that he had gone to the trouble, I went to the meeting – but immediately explained to my interviewer that I was without a work permit, so I was unable to accept the role.

As is common in NYC – a metropolis where opportunities abound – she responded: “We'll handle it. When can you start?” I didn't board the aircraft to London.

I worked there for three years. One of the benefits was that I got no-cost classes at Columbia, and I seized the chance to earn a master’s of international affairs.

I never saw that student again and I can't recall his identity, but his remarkable generosity altered my destiny in so many ways. I lacked the courage or self-assurance to reach out at an prestigious college and ask for a job. Moreover, I had always wanted to take classes in another country, but could never have afforded it without that free tuition.

What's more, that role at the university paved the way for a job in Zurich where I encountered my wonderful partner, with whom I currently share four amazing children. That encounter altered everything. That kind stranger redirected my path in life, and I’m eternally thankful.

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