In the closing decade of the 80s, I was beginning a backpacking trip to Europe with a travel partner. Because my friend was interested in enrolling in graduate studies in NYC, we had planned a two-week stay there before heading to London.
We reached the student accommodation, a sizeable multi-story edifice on the Manhattan's Upper West Side named International House. Setting down our luggage, we went directly to the canteen, where we picked up meals, sat down, and started talking to other diners.
Sitting next to me was an Iraqi man studying engineering at a prestigious New York university. He wanted to know what I my profession was, and I explained that I had just graduated with a science degree and had been conducting research with electron microscopy.
He mentioned that there was an microscopy facility at the university – right next door to the school of engineering, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He proposed that I should apply for a role with them. I chuckled at the suggestion, saying that I was heading off to Europe and, even more importantly, I did not possess a US visa.
The following day I toured the city, returning to the canteen that night. The engineering student came up to me and told me that he had set up a meeting for me with the head of the electron microscope unit at Columbia. Because he had made the arrangement, I showed up for the discussion – but right away told my host that I didn’t have a visa, so I was likely not a suitable candidate.
As is common in NYC – a city where anything feels possible – she responded: “We can make that happen. How soon can you begin?” I never got on that flight to London.
I was employed there for 36 months. A perk of the job was that I was granted no-cost classes at Columbia, and I seized the chance to complete a postgrad program in international relations.
I lost touch with him and I can't recall his full name, but his remarkable generosity altered my destiny in numerous aspects. I lacked the confidence or self-belief to approach someone at an Ivy League university and request employment. Moreover, I had consistently hoped to study abroad, but lacked the financial means without that educational benefit.
Perhaps most importantly, that gig at Columbia paved the way for a position in Switzerland where I encountered my beautiful French husband, with whom I currently share four wonderful sons and daughters. That encounter altered everything. That helpful person redirected my path in life, and I’m forever grateful.
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