In the closing decade of the 80s, I set out on a low-cost journey to Europe with a companion. Since my travel mate was exploring pursuing a master’s degree in NYC, we had booked a 14-day stopover there before heading to London.
We arrived at the postgrad residence, a sizeable multi-story edifice on the Manhattan's Upper West Side called International House. Once we unpacked, we headed straight to the dining hall, where we picked up meals, took a seat, and started talking to other diners.
Adjacent to my seat was an gentleman from Iraq enrolled in an engineering program at Columbia University. He asked me what I did for a living, and I shared that I had recently completed my studies with a scientific background and had been performing experiments using an electron microscope.
He noted that there was an microscopy facility at the university – close to the engineering faculty, which was how he knew about it. He proposed that I ought to seek a job with them. I laughed it off, saying that I was heading off to Europe and, more critically, I lacked a US visa.
The next day I went out exploring, going back to the cafeteria that evening. The Iraqi student approached me and told me that he had set up a meeting for me with the head of the electron microscope unit at Columbia. Because he had gone to the trouble, I went to the meeting – but straight off told my prospective employer that I was without a work permit, so I was likely not a suitable candidate.
In typical New York fashion – a city where opportunities abound – she said: “We can make that happen. What's your start date?” I never got on that flight to London.
I held that position for a trio of years. One of the benefits was that I also received no-cost classes at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to earn a master’s of international affairs.
I never saw that student again and I don’t even know his full name, but his selfless gesture transformed my future in numerous aspects. I would never have had the courage or nerve to approach someone at an Ivy League university and seek a position. And, 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 gig at Columbia resulted in a position in Switzerland where I met my beautiful French husband, with whom I currently share four amazing children. That encounter altered everything. That benevolent individual set me on a different course in life, and I’m eternally thankful.
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