In the closing decade of the 80s, I was beginning a backpacking trip to Europe with a travel partner. Because my friend was exploring pursuing a master’s degree in the Big Apple, we had planned a 14-day stopover there before heading to London.
We got to the student accommodation, a large multi-story edifice on the Manhattan's Upper West Side named International House. Once we unpacked, we headed straight to the dining hall, where we picked up meals, sat down, and began chatting with people eating there.
Adjacent to my seat was an gentleman from Iraq studying engineering at an Ivy League institution. He inquired what I did, and I told him that I had just graduated with a scientific background and had been working on studies involving microscopic analysis.
He pointed out that there was an electron microscope unit at Columbia University – close to the engineering faculty, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He proposed that I ought to seek a role with them. I laughed it off, telling him that I was heading off to Europe and, more critically, I didn’t have a US visa.
A day later I ventured out, going back to the cafeteria that after dark. The engineering student walked over to me and let me know that he had organized a discussion for me with the leader of the research team at Columbia. Given that he had taken the effort, I attended the interview – but immediately explained to my host that I lacked the necessary visa, so I was unable to accept the role.
As is common in NYC – a city where opportunities abound – she said: “That can be arranged. What's your start date?” I missed my plane to London.
I held that position for 36 months. One of the benefits was that I got complimentary education at Columbia, and I seized the chance to earn a graduate degree in global studies.
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 would never have had the courage or self-assurance to reach out at an elite institution and seek a position. Additionally, I had always wanted to take classes in another country, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that tuition waiver.
What's more, that role at the university led me to a position in Switzerland where I met my beautiful French husband, with whom I currently share a family of four kids. That encounter altered everything. That benevolent individual redirected my path in life, and I’m forever grateful.
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