An Compassion of Unknown Individuals: The Way a Man I Had Just Met Supported Me Secure the Job That Changed My Life

In the final years of the 1980s, I was beginning a low-cost journey to the European continent with a friend. Because my travel mate was considering enrolling in graduate studies in the Big Apple, we had planned a two-week stay there en route to London.

We reached the graduate housing, a sizeable ten-floor structure on the UWS known as International House. Setting down our luggage, we went directly to the canteen, where we got some food, found a table, and engaged in conversation with fellow residents.

Adjacent to my seat was an individual of Iraqi origin enrolled in an engineering program at an Ivy League institution. He asked me what I did for a living, and I told him that I had newly finished with a science degree and had been working on studies involving microscopic analysis.

He mentioned that there was an electron microscope unit at the university – adjacent to the school of engineering, which was how he knew about it. He recommended that I ought to seek a job with them. I chuckled at the suggestion, telling him that I was soon departing to Europe and, even more importantly, I lacked a US visa.

A day later I went out exploring, returning to the canteen that evening. The man from Iraq approached me and told me that he had arranged an interview for me with the leader of the research team at Columbia. Since he had made the arrangement, I showed up for the discussion – but right away told my host that I lacked the necessary visa, so I was probably wasting her time.

In typical New York fashion – a city where opportunities abound – she responded: “We can make that happen. When can you start?” I missed my plane to London.

I held that position for three years. A perk of the job was that I also received free tuition at Columbia, and I seized the chance to earn a graduate degree in global studies.

We didn't cross paths after that and I can't recall his name, but his remarkable generosity transformed my future in multiple respects. I lacked the confidence or self-belief to approach someone at an elite institution and ask for a job. And, I had long dreamed to take classes in another country, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that educational benefit.

Critically, that job in New York paved the way for a role in Europe where I encountered my wonderful partner, with whom I currently share four wonderful sons and daughters. It was a total sliding doors moment. That benevolent individual changed my trajectory in life, and I’m eternally thankful.

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