During the closing decade of the 80s, I was embarking on a backpacking trip to the European continent with a companion. Since my companion was considering starting a postgraduate program in the Big Apple, we had booked a 14-day stopover there before heading to London.
We arrived at the postgrad residence, a big 10-storey building on the Upper West Side called International House. After dropping our bags, we made our way to the cafeteria, where we picked up meals, found a table, and engaged in conversation with people eating there.
Beside me was an individual of Iraqi origin pursuing an engineering degree at a prestigious New York university. He inquired what I my profession was, and I told him that I had newly finished with a science degree and had been working on studies using an electron microscope.
He mentioned that there was an electron microscope unit at Columbia University – adjacent to the engineering faculty, which was how he knew about it. He recommended that I consider applying for a position with them. I laughed it off, explaining that I was soon departing to Europe and, more critically, I did not possess a US visa.
A day later I toured the city, returning to the canteen that after dark. The man from Iraq walked over to me and told me that he had set up a meeting for me with the leader of the research team at Columbia. Because he had gone to the trouble, I attended the interview – but straight off told my prospective employer that I didn’t have a visa, so I was probably wasting her time.
As is common in NYC – a place where anything feels possible – she declared: “We'll handle it. How soon can you begin?” I missed my plane to London.
I held that position for a trio of years. An advantage of the role was that I also received no-cost classes at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to complete a master’s of international affairs.
We didn't cross paths after that and I am unaware of his full name, but his selfless gesture changed my life in numerous aspects. I lacked the courage or self-assurance to reach out at an Ivy League university and ask for a job. Additionally, 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 job in New York paved the way for a job in Zurich where I met my beautiful French husband, with whom I now have four wonderful sons and daughters. That encounter altered everything. That helpful person redirected my path in life, and I’m eternally thankful.
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