An Compassion of People We Don't Know: How a Person I Had Just Met Supported Me Secure the Position That Changed My Life

During the final years of the 1980s, I was beginning a backpacking trip to Europe with a companion. Since my companion was considering starting a postgraduate program in New York, we had arranged a two-week stay there en route to London.

We got to the graduate housing, a large multi-story edifice on the Manhattan's Upper West Side known as International House. After dropping our bags, we headed straight to the dining hall, where we got some food, found a table, and engaged in conversation with other diners.

Beside me was an gentleman from Iraq studying engineering at an Ivy League institution. He inquired what I my profession was, and I explained that I had newly finished with a scientific background and had been conducting research involving microscopic analysis.

He noted that there was an microscopy facility at Columbia University – right next door to the engineering faculty, which was why he was aware of it. He proposed that I ought to seek a job with them. I chuckled at the suggestion, saying that I was about to fly to Europe and, additionally, I did not possess a US visa.

The following day I toured the city, coming back to the dining hall that evening. The Iraqi student approached me and informed me that he had arranged an interview for me with the head of the electron microscope unit at Columbia. Because he had taken the effort, I went to the meeting – but right away explained to my host that I was without a work permit, so I was probably wasting her time.

In typical New York fashion – a place where opportunities abound – she responded: “That can be arranged. What's your start date?” I never got on that flight to London.

I worked there for a trio of years. An advantage of the role was that I also received free tuition at Columbia, and I seized the chance to complete a graduate degree in global studies.

I lost touch with him and I can't recall his full name, but his selfless gesture transformed my future in numerous aspects. I didn't possess the bravery or self-belief to approach someone at an Ivy League university and ask for a job. Moreover, I had long dreamed to study abroad, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that free tuition.

Perhaps most importantly, that role at the university resulted in a role in Europe where I got to know my wonderful partner, with whom I am raising a family of four kids. This was a pivotal life event. That kind stranger changed my trajectory in life, and I’m always appreciative.

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