The Compassion of People We Don't Know: How a Man I Had Just Met Helped Me Obtain the Job That Changed My Life
During the late 1980s, I was embarking on a backpacking trip to the European continent with a companion. Because my travel mate was exploring starting a postgraduate program in NYC, we had planned a 14-day stopover there before heading to London.
We arrived at the graduate housing, a large 10-storey building on the UWS known as International House. Once we unpacked, we headed straight to the cafeteria, where we picked up meals, sat down, and engaged in conversation with other diners.
Adjacent to my seat was an gentleman from Iraq enrolled in an engineering program at an Ivy League institution. He wanted to know what I my profession was, and I told him that I had just graduated with a scientific background and had been working on studies with electron microscopy.
He mentioned that there was an research lab at Columbia University – adjacent to the engineering faculty, which was why he was aware of it. He recommended that I ought to seek a position with them. I laughed it off, saying that I was heading off to Europe and, additionally, I didn’t have a US visa.
A day later I toured the city, coming back to the dining hall that evening. The engineering student came up to me and informed me that he had arranged an interview for me with the director of the microscopy lab at Columbia. Because he had taken the effort, I showed up for the discussion – but immediately informed my interviewer that I lacked the necessary visa, so I was likely not a suitable candidate.
In typical New York fashion – a metropolis where opportunities abound – she responded: “We'll handle it. How soon can you begin?” I didn't board the aircraft to London.
I held that position for three years. A perk of the job was that I was granted no-cost classes at Columbia, and I took advantage to complete a master’s of international affairs.
I never saw that student again and I can't recall his full name, but his incredible act of kindness altered my destiny in so many ways. I would never have had the bravery or self-assurance to approach someone at an Ivy League university and request employment. And, I had always wanted to pursue education overseas, but lacked the financial means without that free tuition.
Critically, that role at the university led me to a role in Europe where I got to know my handsome spouse from France, with whom I am raising four wonderful sons and daughters. This was a pivotal life event. That helpful person changed my trajectory in life, and I’m eternally thankful.
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