In the late 1980s, I was embarking on a backpacking trip to the European continent with a companion. Because my friend was exploring enrolling in graduate studies in the Big Apple, we had planned a fortnight visit there on the way to London.
We arrived at the postgrad residence, a sizeable ten-floor structure on the Manhattan's Upper West Side named International House. After dropping our bags, we made our way to the dining hall, where we got some food, found a table, and engaged in conversation with people eating there.
Adjacent to my seat was an Iraqi man pursuing an engineering degree at an Ivy League institution. He asked me what I did for a living, and I shared that I had newly finished with a science degree and had been performing experiments using an electron microscope.
He mentioned that there was an electron microscope unit at Columbia University – right next door to the engineering faculty, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He proposed that I should apply for a role with them. I laughed it off, explaining that I was heading off to Europe and, additionally, I didn’t have a US visa.
A day later I ventured out, coming back to the dining hall that evening. The engineering student walked over to me and told me that he had arranged an interview for me with the head of the electron microscope unit at Columbia. Given that he had taken the effort, I showed up for the discussion – but straight off explained to my interviewer that I lacked the necessary visa, so I was likely not a suitable candidate.
In typical New York fashion – a metropolis where everything seems achievable – she responded: “We'll handle it. What's your start date?” I missed my plane to London.
I held that position for three years. One of the benefits was that I got no-cost classes at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to finish a postgrad program in international relations.
I lost touch with him and I can't recall his full name, but his incredible act of kindness transformed my future in so many ways. I didn't possess the courage or self-assurance to contact anyone at an Ivy League university and request employment. And, I had long dreamed to pursue education overseas, but lacked the financial means without that tuition waiver.
Critically, that role at the university paved the way for a role in Europe where I got to know my beautiful French husband, with whom I am raising a family of four kids. That encounter altered everything. That benevolent individual set me on a different course in life, and I’m eternally thankful.
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