During the late 1980s, I set out on a budget travel adventure to Europe with a companion. Since my travel mate was considering pursuing a master’s degree in NYC, we had arranged a two-week stay there en route to London.
We reached the postgrad residence, a sizeable ten-floor structure on the Upper West Side known as International House. After dropping our bags, we went directly to the canteen, where we got some food, sat down, and engaged in conversation with fellow residents.
Beside me was an Iraqi man enrolled in an engineering program at Columbia University. He wanted to know what I did for a living, and I explained that I had just graduated with a science degree and had been conducting research with electron microscopy.
He mentioned that there was an microscopy facility at Columbia University – adjacent to the school of engineering, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He recommended that I ought to seek a job with them. I dismissed the idea, telling him that I was soon departing to Europe and, additionally, I did not possess a US visa.
The following day I toured the city, returning to the canteen that night. 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. Given that he had made the arrangement, I went to the meeting – but straight off explained to my interviewer that I didn’t have a visa, so I was likely not a suitable candidate.
As is common in NYC – a metropolis where anything feels possible – she said: “That can be arranged. How soon can you begin?” I missed my plane to London.
I was employed there for three years. A perk of the job was that I was granted free tuition at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to complete a postgrad program in international relations.
We didn't cross paths after that and I am unaware of his name, but his remarkable generosity changed my life in so many ways. I lacked the bravery or self-belief to reach out at an elite institution and ask for a job. And, 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 paved the way for a role in Europe where I met my beautiful French husband, with whom I now have four amazing children. That encounter altered everything. That benevolent individual redirected my path in life, and I’m eternally thankful.
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