In the final years of the 1980s, I was beginning a backpacking trip to Europe with a travel partner. Because my travel mate was interested in pursuing a master’s degree in New York, we had planned a two-week stay there before heading to London.
We arrived at the postgrad residence, a sizeable 10-storey building on the UWS known as International House. Setting down our luggage, we headed straight to the cafeteria, where we picked up meals, found a table, and engaged in conversation with people eating there.
Sitting next to me was an gentleman from Iraq pursuing an engineering degree at an Ivy League institution. He wanted to know what I did for a living, and I told him that I had just graduated with a scientific background and had been performing experiments using an electron microscope.
He noted that there was an microscopy facility at Columbia University – close to the engineering faculty, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He suggested that I ought to seek a position with them. I laughed it off, explaining that I was about to fly to Europe and, even more importantly, I did not possess a US visa.
The following day I went out exploring, returning to the canteen that after dark. The man from Iraq walked over 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 gone to the trouble, I attended the interview – but immediately informed my interviewer that I lacked the necessary visa, so I was unable to accept the role.
Reflecting the city's spirit – a place where anything feels possible – she responded: “We can make that happen. What's your start date?” I didn't board the aircraft to London.
I held that position for a trio of years. A perk of the job was that I also received free tuition at Columbia, and I seized the chance to earn a postgrad program in international relations.
We didn't cross paths after that and I am unaware of his full name, but his remarkable generosity changed my life in numerous aspects. I would never have had the confidence or self-assurance to approach someone at an prestigious college and request employment. Moreover, I had long dreamed to study abroad, but lacked the financial means without that free tuition.
What's more, that role at the university resulted in a role in Europe where I got to know my beautiful French husband, with whom I currently share four amazing children. That encounter altered everything. That benevolent individual set me on a different course in life, and I’m eternally thankful.
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