In the final years of the 1980s, I was embarking on a backpacking trip to Europe with a companion. Because my companion was considering enrolling in graduate studies in NYC, we had booked a fortnight visit there en route to London.
We got to the postgrad residence, a sizeable multi-story edifice on the Upper West Side called International House. After dropping our bags, we went directly to the cafeteria, where we got some food, took a seat, and engaged in conversation with people eating there.
Sitting next to me was an gentleman from Iraq studying engineering at a prestigious New York university. He asked me what I did, and I shared that I had just graduated with a science degree and had been working on studies with electron microscopy.
He noted 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 recommended that I ought to seek a job with them. I laughed it off, explaining that I was heading off to Europe and, more critically, I lacked a US visa.
The following day I toured the city, coming back to the dining hall that night. The Iraqi student approached me and informed me that he had organized a discussion for me with the leader of the research team at Columbia. Because he had taken the effort, I went to the meeting – but right away explained to my interviewer that I didn’t have a visa, so I was probably wasting her time.
As is common in NYC – a metropolis where opportunities abound – she declared: “That can be arranged. What's your start date?” I never got on that flight 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 seized the chance to complete a graduate degree in global studies.
We didn't cross paths after that and I can't recall his identity, but his selfless gesture changed my life in so many ways. I would never have had the confidence or self-assurance to approach someone at an Ivy League university and request employment. Moreover, I had always wanted to study abroad, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that free tuition.
Perhaps most importantly, that role at the university resulted in a job in Zurich where I encountered 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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