The Compassion of People We Don't Know: How a Gentleman I Barely Knew Helped Me Secure the Position That Changed My Life

In the final years of the 1980s, I was beginning a low-cost journey to the European continent with a companion. Because my travel mate was interested in starting a postgraduate program in NYC, we had arranged a two-week stay there en route to London.

We got to the postgrad residence, a sizeable ten-floor structure on the UWS known as International House. Once we unpacked, we went directly to the dining hall, where we picked up meals, found a table, and started talking to fellow residents.

Adjacent to my seat was an gentleman from Iraq studying engineering at Columbia University. He wanted to know what I my profession was, and I told him that I had just graduated with a science degree and had been conducting research with electron microscopy.

He noted that there was an research lab at the institution – adjacent to the school of engineering, which was how he knew about it. He suggested that I consider applying for a job with them. I dismissed the idea, telling him that I was about to fly to Europe and, more critically, I did not possess a US visa.

A day later I ventured out, returning to the canteen that night. The engineering student walked over to me and informed me that he had organized a discussion for me with the head of the electron microscope unit at Columbia. Since he had taken the effort, I attended the interview – but straight off told my prospective employer that I lacked the necessary visa, so I was unable to accept the role.

In typical New York fashion – a place where everything seems achievable – she responded: “We can make that happen. When can you start?” I never got on that flight to London.

I worked there for 36 months. A perk of the job was that I also received no-cost classes at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to earn a graduate degree in global studies.

I lost touch with him and I don’t even know his full name, but his incredible act of kindness altered my destiny in so many ways. I lacked the bravery or self-assurance to reach out at an Ivy League university and request employment. Moreover, I had long dreamed to pursue education overseas, but lacked the financial means without that free tuition.

Perhaps most importantly, that job in New York led me to a role in Europe where I encountered my wonderful partner, with whom I am raising four wonderful sons and daughters. This was a pivotal life event. That kind stranger redirected my path in life, and I’m forever grateful.

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