The Kindness of People We Don't Know: How a Man I Only Just Encountered Supported Me Obtain the Job That Transformed My Existence

During the late 1980s, I set out on a budget travel adventure to the European continent with a travel partner. Since my companion was interested in enrolling in graduate studies in New York, we had booked a fortnight visit there on the way to London.

We reached the student accommodation, a large multi-story edifice on the Manhattan's Upper West Side known as International House. Setting down our luggage, we went directly to the dining hall, where we got some food, found a table, and engaged in conversation with other diners.

Sitting next to me was an gentleman from Iraq enrolled in an engineering program at a prestigious New York university. He wanted to know what I did, and I shared that I had recently completed my studies with a scientific background and had been performing experiments using an electron microscope.

He mentioned that there was an electron microscope unit at Columbia University – right next door to the school of engineering, which was how he knew about it. He recommended that I consider applying for a role with them. I chuckled at the suggestion, telling him that I was heading off to Europe and, even more importantly, I lacked a US visa.

The next day I went out exploring, returning to the canteen that evening. The Iraqi student came up to me and informed me that he had set up a meeting for me with the head of the electron microscope unit at Columbia. Since he had taken the effort, I showed up for the discussion – but straight off told my prospective employer that I lacked the necessary visa, so I was likely not a suitable candidate.

In typical New York fashion – a metropolis where anything feels possible – she said: “That can be arranged. When can you start?” I didn't board the aircraft to London.

I was employed there for a trio of years. An advantage of the role was that I got no-cost classes at Columbia, and I took advantage to earn a master’s of international affairs.

I lost touch with him and I can't recall his name, but his remarkable generosity changed my life in numerous aspects. I lacked the bravery or self-belief to reach out at an prestigious college and ask for a job. Additionally, I had consistently hoped to pursue education overseas, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that free tuition.

Perhaps most importantly, that gig at Columbia paved the way for a job in Zurich where I encountered my wonderful partner, with whom I now have four amazing children. This was a pivotal life event. That helpful person set me on a different course in life, and I’m eternally thankful.

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