In the late 1980s, I was beginning a backpacking trip to Europe with a travel partner. Since my companion was exploring pursuing a master’s degree in the Big Apple, we had arranged a two-week stay there en route to London.
We arrived at the student accommodation, a large ten-floor structure on the UWS known as International House. After dropping our bags, we went directly to the canteen, where we got some food, sat down, and started talking to other diners.
Sitting next to me was an Iraqi man pursuing an engineering degree at Columbia University. He asked me what I did for a living, and I told him that I had recently completed my studies with a scientific background and had been performing experiments using an electron microscope.
He pointed out that there was an microscopy facility at the institution – right next door to the school of engineering, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He suggested that I consider applying for a position with them. I chuckled at the suggestion, saying that I was soon departing to Europe and, even more importantly, I did not possess a US visa.
The following day I went out exploring, returning to the canteen that night. The Iraqi student walked over to me and let me know that he had set up a meeting for me with the director of the microscopy lab at Columbia. Since he had made the arrangement, I attended the interview – but straight off informed my interviewer that I lacked the necessary visa, so I was probably wasting her time.
In typical New York fashion – a place where opportunities abound – she responded: “We'll handle it. When can you start?” I missed my plane to London.
I was employed there for a trio of years. A perk of the job was that I got free tuition at Columbia, and I seized the chance to earn a master’s of international affairs.
I never saw that student again and I can't recall his identity, but his incredible act of kindness transformed my future in numerous aspects. I would never have had the bravery or self-belief to reach out at an elite institution and request employment. And, I had always wanted to study abroad, but lacked the financial means without that tuition waiver.
Critically, that job in New York resulted in a role in Europe where I met my beautiful French husband, with whom I currently share a family of four kids. That encounter altered everything. That benevolent individual changed my trajectory in life, and I’m forever grateful.
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