During the closing decade of the 80s, I was embarking on a backpacking trip to the European continent with a friend. Since my companion was considering starting a postgraduate program in NYC, we had arranged a two-week stay there on the way to London.
We got to the graduate housing, a big multi-story edifice on the Upper West Side known as International House. After dropping our bags, we made our way to the canteen, where we picked up meals, took a seat, and began chatting with fellow residents.
Sitting next to me was an Iraqi man enrolled in an engineering program at Columbia University. He inquired what I did, and I explained that I had recently completed my studies with a science degree and had been conducting research involving microscopic analysis.
He noted that there was an research lab at the institution – adjacent to the engineering department, which was how he knew about it. He suggested that I consider applying for a job with them. I laughed it off, saying that I was heading off to Europe and, more critically, I lacked a US visa.
The following day I toured the city, going back to the cafeteria that evening. The Iraqi student approached me and told me that he had organized a discussion for me with the head of the electron microscope unit at Columbia. Because he had taken the effort, I went to the meeting – but straight off informed my interviewer that I was without a work permit, so I was probably wasting her time.
As is common in NYC – a city where everything seems achievable – she responded: “We can make that happen. What's your start date?” I never got on that flight to London.
I held that position for three years. An advantage of the role was that I got free tuition 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 identity, but his remarkable generosity altered my destiny in numerous aspects. I would never have had the bravery or self-assurance to reach out at an prestigious college and request employment. Moreover, I had always wanted to study abroad, but lacked the financial means without that tuition waiver.
What's more, that gig at Columbia led me to a job in Zurich where I got to know my beautiful French husband, with whom I currently share four wonderful sons and daughters. That encounter altered everything. That benevolent individual changed my trajectory in life, and I’m forever grateful.
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