During the closing decade of the 80s, I was embarking on a backpacking trip to Europe with a travel partner. Since my travel mate was exploring enrolling in graduate studies in NYC, we had arranged a 14-day stopover there before heading to London.
We arrived at the postgrad residence, a large 10-storey building on the UWS named International House. Setting down our luggage, we went directly to the dining hall, where we got some food, took a seat, and engaged in conversation with fellow residents.
Adjacent to my seat was an individual of Iraqi origin enrolled in an engineering program at an Ivy League institution. He asked me what I did for a living, and I shared that I had newly finished with a scientific background and had been working on studies with electron microscopy.
He pointed out that there was an research lab at Columbia University – adjacent to the engineering faculty, which was how he knew about it. He suggested that I consider applying for a position with them. I dismissed the idea, explaining that I was soon departing to Europe and, more critically, I lacked a US visa.
A day later I went out exploring, coming back to the dining hall that night. The man from Iraq walked over to me and let me know that he had arranged an interview for me with the director of the microscopy lab at Columbia. Given that he had taken the effort, I showed up for the discussion – but straight off informed my interviewer that I didn’t have a visa, so I was probably wasting her time.
In typical New York fashion – a place where anything feels possible – she declared: “We'll handle it. What's your start date?” I never got on that flight to London.
I was employed there for a trio of years. An advantage of the role was that I was granted no-cost classes at Columbia, and I seized the chance to complete a graduate degree in global studies.
I never saw that student again and I don’t even know his name, but his remarkable generosity changed my life in so many ways. I would never have had the courage or self-belief to reach out at an prestigious college and ask for a job. And, I had long dreamed to take classes in another country, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that tuition waiver.
What's more, that gig at Columbia paved the way for a role in Europe where I got to know my handsome spouse from France, with whom I now have four amazing children. This was a pivotal life event. That benevolent individual redirected my path in life, and I’m forever grateful.
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