In the closing decade of the 80s, I was beginning a budget travel adventure to the European continent with a friend. Since my companion was considering starting a postgraduate program in the Big Apple, we had booked a two-week stay there en route to London.
We reached the student accommodation, a sizeable multi-story edifice on the Manhattan's Upper West Side named International House. After dropping our bags, we headed straight to the dining hall, where we picked up meals, found a table, and began chatting with people eating there.
Adjacent to my seat was an gentleman from Iraq enrolled in an engineering program at an Ivy League institution. He asked me what I my profession was, and I told him that I had recently completed my studies with a scientific background and had been working on studies using an electron microscope.
He noted that there was an microscopy facility at the university – close to the engineering department, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He proposed that I ought to seek a job with them. I dismissed the idea, explaining that I was heading off to Europe and, even more importantly, I lacked a US visa.
The next day I toured the city, returning to the canteen that evening. The engineering student approached me and let me know that he had set up a meeting for me with the leader of the research team at Columbia. Given that he had gone to the trouble, I attended the interview – but straight off told my host that I lacked the necessary visa, so I was unable to accept the role.
Reflecting the city's spirit – a place where anything feels possible – she responded: “We'll handle it. What's your start date?” I didn't board the aircraft to London.
I worked there for a trio of years. One of the benefits was that I was granted no-cost classes at Columbia, and I seized the chance to earn 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 altered my destiny in numerous aspects. I would never have had the courage or nerve to contact anyone at an elite institution and seek a position. Moreover, I had consistently hoped to pursue education overseas, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that tuition waiver.
Perhaps most importantly, that gig at Columbia resulted in a role in Europe where I met my handsome spouse from France, with whom I am raising a family of four kids. It was a total sliding doors moment. That helpful person redirected my path in life, and I’m forever grateful.
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