In the closing decade of the 80s, I set out on a backpacking trip to the European continent with a friend. Since my travel mate was considering starting a postgraduate program in New York, we had booked a fortnight visit there before heading to London.
We got to the student accommodation, a big ten-floor structure on the Upper West Side known as International House. After dropping our bags, we went directly to the canteen, where we grabbed food, sat down, and engaged in conversation with fellow residents.
Sitting next to me was an individual of Iraqi origin enrolled in an engineering program at an Ivy League institution. He asked me what I my profession was, and I shared that I had newly finished with a degree in science 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 faculty, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He recommended that I consider applying for a job with them. I dismissed the idea, telling him that I was about to fly to Europe and, more critically, I did not possess a US visa.
The next day I went out exploring, returning to the canteen that evening. The man from Iraq came up to me and let me know that he had arranged an interview for me with the leader of the research team at Columbia. Given that he had made the arrangement, I attended the interview – but straight off told my interviewer that I was without a work permit, so I was unable to accept the role.
Reflecting the city's spirit – a city where everything seems achievable – she said: “That can be arranged. When can you start?” I never got on that flight to London.
I worked there for three years. An advantage of the role was that I was granted complimentary education at Columbia, and I took advantage to complete a graduate degree in global studies.
I lost touch with him and I don’t even know his full name, but his remarkable generosity transformed my future in multiple respects. I didn't possess the confidence or nerve to contact anyone at an prestigious college and request employment. Additionally, I had consistently hoped to study abroad, but lacked the financial means without that free tuition.
What's more, that gig at Columbia paved the way for a position in Switzerland where I got to know my beautiful French husband, with whom I now have four wonderful sons and daughters. That encounter altered everything. That helpful person changed my trajectory in life, and I’m forever grateful.
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