In the final years of the 1980s, I was beginning a backpacking trip to Europe with a companion. Since my travel mate was exploring starting a postgraduate program in NYC, we had booked a fortnight visit there before heading to London.
We reached the postgrad residence, a sizeable 10-storey building on the Upper West Side named International House. After dropping our bags, we made our way to the cafeteria, where we picked up meals, took a seat, and began chatting with people eating there.
Adjacent to my seat was an individual of Iraqi origin studying engineering at a prestigious New York university. He wanted to know what I did, and I told him that I had just graduated with a degree in science and had been performing experiments using an electron microscope.
He noted that there was an research lab at Columbia University – adjacent to the engineering department, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He suggested that I consider applying for a position with them. I chuckled at the suggestion, saying that I was about to fly to Europe and, additionally, I didn’t have a US visa.
The following day I went out exploring, going back to the cafeteria that after dark. The Iraqi student came up to me and informed me that he had set up a meeting for me with the head of the electron microscope unit at Columbia. Since he had gone to the trouble, I went to the meeting – but right away told my prospective employer that I was without a work permit, so I was unable to accept the role.
As is common in NYC – a city where anything feels possible – she responded: “We'll handle it. What's your start date?” I missed my plane to London.
I was employed there for three years. An advantage of the role was that I got no-cost classes at Columbia, and I took advantage to earn 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 altered my destiny in so many ways. I didn't possess the courage or nerve to reach out at an prestigious college and ask for a job. And, I had always wanted to study abroad, but lacked the financial means without that educational benefit.
What's more, that job in New York paved the way for a role in Europe where I got to know my beautiful French husband, with whom I am raising 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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