During the final years of the 1980s, I was beginning a backpacking trip to Europe with a companion. Because my travel mate was considering starting a postgraduate program in NYC, we had planned a 14-day stopover there en route to London.
We arrived at the postgrad residence, a big multi-story edifice on the Manhattan's Upper West Side named International House. Setting down our luggage, we headed straight to the dining hall, where we picked up meals, found a table, and started talking to other diners.
Sitting next to me was an Iraqi man pursuing an engineering degree at a prestigious New York university. He asked me what I my profession was, and I explained that I had newly finished with a science degree and had been performing experiments involving microscopic analysis.
He noted that there was an electron microscope unit at Columbia University – adjacent to the engineering department, which was why he was aware of it. He proposed that I should apply for a role with them. I laughed it off, saying that I was about to fly to Europe and, more critically, I didn’t have a US visa.
A day later I went out exploring, returning to the canteen that night. The man from Iraq approached me and informed me that he had organized a discussion for me with the leader of the research team at Columbia. Given that he had made the arrangement, I went to the meeting – but straight off informed my prospective employer that I was without a work permit, so I was likely not a suitable candidate.
Reflecting the city's spirit – a city where anything feels possible – she declared: “We can make that happen. How soon can you begin?” I didn't board the aircraft to London.
I held that position for three years. An advantage of the role was that I also received no-cost classes at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to finish a graduate degree in global studies.
I lost touch with him and I can't recall his identity, but his selfless gesture altered my destiny in multiple respects. I didn't possess the courage or self-assurance to approach someone at an prestigious college and request employment. Additionally, I had consistently hoped to take classes in another country, but could never have afforded it without that tuition waiver.
What's more, that job in New York resulted in a role in Europe where I met my beautiful French husband, with whom I am raising four amazing children. This was a pivotal life event. That benevolent individual set me on a different course in life, and I’m forever grateful.
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