During the final years of the 1980s, I was embarking on a low-cost journey to Europe with a friend. Since my travel mate was exploring enrolling in graduate studies in NYC, we had planned a two-week stay there on the way to London.
We arrived at the postgrad residence, a sizeable 10-storey building on the Manhattan's Upper West Side named International House. After dropping our bags, we headed straight to the dining hall, where we picked up meals, took a seat, and started talking to people eating there.
Sitting next to me was an gentleman from Iraq enrolled in an engineering program at an Ivy League institution. He wanted to know what I did for a living, and I shared that I had newly finished with a scientific background and had been working on studies using an electron microscope.
He pointed out that there was an microscopy facility at Columbia University – right next door to the engineering department, which was why he was aware of it. He proposed that I should apply for a position with them. I laughed it off, telling him that I was soon departing to Europe and, more critically, I did not possess a US visa.
The following day I went out exploring, going back to the cafeteria that evening. The Iraqi student came up to me and let me know that he had organized a discussion for me with the director of the microscopy lab at Columbia. Because he had gone to the trouble, I went to the meeting – but right away informed my interviewer that I lacked the necessary visa, so I was likely not a suitable candidate.
In typical New York fashion – a place where opportunities abound – she declared: “We'll handle it. How soon can you begin?” I didn't board the aircraft to London.
I was employed there for a trio of years. One of the benefits 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 am unaware of his identity, but his remarkable generosity altered my destiny in multiple respects. I didn't possess the courage or self-belief to contact anyone at an prestigious college and seek a position. And, I had consistently hoped to study abroad, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that educational benefit.
Perhaps most importantly, 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. That encounter altered everything. That helpful person set me on a different course in life, and I’m eternally thankful.
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