In the final years of the 1980s, I was beginning a backpacking trip to the European continent with a friend. Because my travel mate was exploring starting a postgraduate program in the Big Apple, we had planned a two-week stay there before heading to London.
We arrived at the student accommodation, a big 10-storey building on the Upper West Side known as International House. After dropping our bags, we went directly to the canteen, where we grabbed food, sat down, and engaged in conversation with other diners.
Adjacent to my seat was an individual of Iraqi origin pursuing an engineering degree at an Ivy League institution. He inquired what I did, and I told him that I had just graduated with a degree in science and had been working on studies with electron microscopy.
He pointed out that there was an microscopy facility at Columbia University – adjacent to the school of engineering, which was how he knew about it. He recommended that I should apply for a position with them. I laughed it off, telling him that I was heading off to Europe and, more critically, I didn’t have a US visa.
The following day I went out exploring, going back to the cafeteria that after dark. The engineering student walked over to me and told me that he had arranged an interview for me with the leader of the research team at Columbia. Because he had taken the effort, I showed up for the discussion – but right away explained to my host that I didn’t have a visa, so I was probably wasting her time.
Reflecting the city's spirit – a metropolis where everything seems achievable – she responded: “We'll handle it. What's your start date?” I never got on that flight to London.
I worked there for 36 months. A perk of the job was that I got no-cost classes at Columbia, and I seized the chance to earn a postgrad program in international relations.
I lost touch with him and I don’t even know his name, but his remarkable generosity altered my destiny in so many ways. I didn't possess the courage or nerve to contact anyone at an Ivy League university and request employment. Moreover, I had consistently hoped to pursue education overseas, but lacked the financial means without that tuition waiver.
Perhaps most importantly, that role at the university resulted in a job in Zurich where I got to know my beautiful French husband, with whom I am raising a family of four kids. That encounter altered everything. That helpful person changed my trajectory in life, and I’m eternally thankful.
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