The Kindness of Strangers: The Way a Man I Only Just Encountered Supported Me Secure the Position That Altered My Path

In the late 1980s, I set out on a backpacking trip to the European continent with a companion. Since my companion was considering starting a postgraduate program in New York, we had booked a two-week stay there en route to London.

We reached the student accommodation, a large multi-story edifice on the Manhattan's Upper West Side called International House. Once we unpacked, we made our way to the dining hall, where we got some food, took a seat, and engaged in conversation with people eating there.

Adjacent to my seat was an individual of Iraqi origin pursuing an engineering degree at a prestigious New York university. He asked me what I did, and I told him that I had just graduated with a science degree and had been performing experiments using an electron microscope.

He noted that there was an research lab at the university – close to the school of engineering, which was why he was aware of it. He suggested that I ought to seek a job with them. I chuckled at the suggestion, telling him that I was soon departing to Europe and, additionally, I did not possess a US visa.

The next day I went out exploring, returning to the canteen that after dark. The Iraqi student approached me and told me that he had arranged an interview for me with the head of the electron microscope unit at Columbia. Given that he had gone to the trouble, I attended the interview – but straight off informed my prospective employer that I didn’t have a visa, so I was likely not a suitable candidate.

Reflecting the city's spirit – a city where anything feels possible – she declared: “We can make that happen. How soon can you begin?” I missed my plane to London.

I worked there for 36 months. An advantage of the role was that I also received complimentary education at Columbia, and I took advantage to finish a postgrad program in international relations.

I lost touch with him and I can't recall his name, but his selfless gesture altered my destiny in multiple respects. I lacked the courage or self-belief to contact anyone at an Ivy League university and request employment. Additionally, I had long dreamed to study abroad, but could never have afforded it without that tuition waiver.

Perhaps most importantly, that gig at Columbia resulted in a job in Zurich where I met my handsome spouse from France, with whom I currently share four wonderful sons and daughters. That encounter altered everything. That helpful person set me on a different course in life, and I’m eternally thankful.

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