During the final years of the 1980s, I set out on a low-cost journey to Europe with a companion. Because my companion was interested in pursuing a master’s degree in NYC, we had planned a two-week stay there en route to London.
We got to the graduate housing, a big multi-story edifice on the Upper West Side called International House. Once we unpacked, we made our way to the canteen, where we got some food, took a seat, and engaged in conversation with fellow residents.
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, and I told him that I had just graduated with a scientific background and had been performing experiments with electron microscopy.
He mentioned that there was an electron microscope unit at Columbia University – right next door to the engineering department, which was how he knew about it. He proposed that I consider applying for a role with them. I dismissed the idea, saying that I was soon departing to Europe and, even more importantly, I did not possess a US visa.
The next day I went out exploring, going back to the cafeteria that evening. The Iraqi student approached me and told me that he had set up a meeting for me with the head of the electron microscope unit at Columbia. Since he had taken the effort, I attended the interview – but immediately told my interviewer that I didn’t have a visa, so I was probably wasting her time.
As is common in NYC – a city where everything seems achievable – she responded: “That can be arranged. How soon can you begin?” I didn't board the aircraft to London.
I was employed there for a trio of years. One of the benefits was that I also received complimentary education 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 identity, but his incredible act of kindness altered my destiny in multiple respects. I didn't possess the courage or self-belief to approach someone at an Ivy League university and ask for a job. Moreover, I had always wanted to study abroad, but lacked the financial means without that tuition waiver.
What's more, that role at the university led me to a job in Zurich where I encountered my beautiful French husband, with whom I am raising a family of four kids. That encounter altered everything. That helpful person changed my trajectory in life, and I’m eternally thankful.
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