During the final years of the 1980s, I was embarking on a low-cost journey to the European continent with a friend. Because my friend was interested in starting a postgraduate program in NYC, we had arranged a fortnight visit there before heading to London.
We arrived at the student accommodation, a sizeable multi-story edifice on the Manhattan's Upper West Side named International House. Once we unpacked, we went directly to the canteen, where we got some food, sat down, and started talking to people eating there.
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 did, and I explained that I had just graduated with a science degree and had been working on studies with electron microscopy.
He pointed out that there was an microscopy facility at Columbia University – right next door to the engineering department, which was how he knew about it. He proposed that I should apply for a job with them. I chuckled at the suggestion, explaining that I was soon departing to Europe and, additionally, I didn’t have a US visa.
The following day I went out exploring, returning to the canteen that evening. The man from Iraq approached me and let me know 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 immediately explained to my interviewer that I didn’t have a visa, so I was unable to accept the role.
As is common in NYC – a city where opportunities abound – she said: “We can make that happen. What's your start date?” I missed my plane to London.
I held that position for a trio of years. A perk of the job was that I got no-cost classes at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to finish a master’s of international affairs.
I lost touch with him and I am unaware of his identity, but his remarkable generosity changed my life in numerous aspects. I didn't possess the bravery or nerve to reach out at an Ivy League university and seek a position. And, I had always wanted to pursue education overseas, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that free tuition.
What's more, that gig at Columbia paved the way for a role in Europe where I encountered my beautiful French husband, with whom I currently share a family of four kids. That encounter altered everything. That benevolent individual set me on a different course in life, and I’m eternally thankful.
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