In the late 1980s, I set out on a backpacking trip to Europe with a friend. Because my companion was exploring enrolling in graduate studies in NYC, we had booked a 14-day stopover there on the way to London.
We got to the student accommodation, a big multi-story edifice on the Upper West Side named International House. Once we unpacked, we made our way to the canteen, where we got some food, found a table, and began chatting with people eating there.
Sitting next to me was an individual of Iraqi origin studying engineering at a prestigious New York university. He inquired what I did for a living, and I told him that I had just graduated with a scientific background and had been performing experiments with electron microscopy.
He mentioned that there was an microscopy facility at Columbia University – right next door to the school of engineering, which was how he knew about it. He suggested that I ought to seek a job with them. I chuckled at the suggestion, saying that I was soon departing to Europe and, additionally, I didn’t have a US visa.
The next day I toured the city, coming back to the dining hall that after dark. The engineering student approached me and informed me that he had arranged an interview for me with the director of the microscopy lab at Columbia. Since he had taken the effort, I attended the interview – but immediately informed my prospective employer that I didn’t have a visa, so I was probably wasting her time.
In typical New York fashion – a metropolis where opportunities abound – she responded: “We can make that happen. How soon can you begin?” I missed my plane to London.
I worked there for three years. A perk of the job was that I was granted complimentary education at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to complete a postgrad program in international relations.
I never saw that student again and I don’t even know his full name, but his remarkable generosity changed my life in numerous aspects. I lacked the confidence or nerve to approach someone at an prestigious college and ask for a job. And, I had consistently hoped to take classes in another country, but lacked the financial means without that free tuition.
What's more, that gig at Columbia led me to a role in Europe where I encountered my beautiful French husband, with whom I currently share four wonderful sons and daughters. This was a pivotal life event. That helpful person changed my trajectory in life, and I’m eternally thankful.
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