In the closing decade of the 80s, I was embarking on a backpacking trip to Europe with a friend. Since my friend was interested in enrolling in graduate studies in New York, we had booked a two-week stay there on the way to London.
We got to the postgrad residence, a large ten-floor structure on the UWS known as International House. Once we unpacked, we made our way to the cafeteria, where we grabbed food, found a table, and started talking to other diners.
Beside me was an Iraqi man enrolled in an engineering program at Columbia University. He asked me what I did for a living, and I shared that I had recently completed my studies with a degree in science and had been conducting research with electron microscopy.
He pointed out that there was an electron microscope unit at Columbia University – right next door to the engineering department, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He recommended that I should apply for a role with them. I chuckled at the suggestion, telling him that I was soon departing to Europe and, even more importantly, I did not possess a US visa.
The following day I toured the city, coming back to the dining hall that after dark. The engineering student approached me and informed me that he had arranged an interview for me with the director of the microscopy lab at Columbia. Because he had gone to the trouble, I went to the meeting – but straight off told my prospective employer that I lacked the necessary visa, so I was probably wasting her time.
Reflecting the city's spirit – a metropolis where anything feels possible – she said: “That can be arranged. What's your start date?” I missed my plane to London.
I was employed there for a trio of years. A perk of the job was that I also received no-cost classes at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to complete a postgrad program in international relations.
I lost touch with him and I can't recall his full name, but his selfless gesture altered my destiny in numerous aspects. I lacked the confidence or self-belief to contact anyone at an prestigious college and seek a position. Moreover, I had consistently hoped to study abroad, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that free tuition.
What's more, that gig at Columbia paved the way for a role in Europe where I got to know my beautiful French husband, with whom I now have a family of four kids. That encounter altered everything. That kind stranger set me on a different course in life, and I’m eternally thankful.
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