In the final years of the 1980s, I set out on a low-cost journey to Europe with a companion. Since my companion was interested in starting a postgraduate program in New York, we had planned a two-week stay there on the way to London.
We reached the graduate housing, a big ten-floor structure on the Manhattan's Upper West Side named International House. After dropping our bags, we headed straight to the cafeteria, where we grabbed food, sat down, and started talking to fellow residents.
Adjacent to my seat was an Iraqi man studying engineering at an Ivy League institution. He wanted to know what I did, and I shared that I had recently completed my studies with a degree in science and had been working on studies using an electron microscope.
He noted that there was an research lab at the university – adjacent to the engineering department, which was why he was aware of it. He recommended that I consider applying for a position with them. I dismissed the idea, saying that I was soon departing to Europe and, more critically, I lacked a US visa.
The following day I went out exploring, coming back to the dining hall that night. The Iraqi student came up to me and informed 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 attended the interview – but right away told my interviewer that I lacked the necessary visa, so I was probably wasting her time.
As is common in NYC – a place where everything seems achievable – she responded: “We'll handle it. When can you start?” I missed my plane to London.
I was employed there for 36 months. An advantage of the role was that I was granted complimentary education 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 remarkable generosity transformed my future in multiple respects. I lacked the confidence or self-assurance to reach out at an elite institution and seek a position. And, I had long dreamed to pursue education overseas, but could never have afforded it without that free tuition.
Perhaps most importantly, that gig at Columbia resulted in a job in Zurich where I got to know my beautiful French husband, with whom I currently share four wonderful sons and daughters. This was a pivotal life event. That benevolent individual changed my trajectory in life, and I’m eternally thankful.
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