In 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 enrolling in graduate studies in NYC, we had arranged a two-week stay there on the way to London.
We reached the postgrad residence, a sizeable ten-floor structure on the Manhattan's Upper West Side known as International House. Setting down our luggage, we made our way to the cafeteria, where we grabbed food, found a table, and began chatting with people eating there.
Adjacent to my seat was an individual of Iraqi origin studying engineering at a prestigious New York university. He inquired what I did, and I shared that I had newly finished with a science degree and had been conducting research with electron microscopy.
He mentioned that there was an research lab at Columbia University – right next door to the engineering department, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He recommended that I consider applying 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.
A day later I toured the city, coming back to the dining hall that night. The man from Iraq approached me and let me know that he had arranged an interview for me with the head of the electron microscope unit at Columbia. Given that he had taken the effort, I went to the meeting – but straight off informed my host that I didn’t have a visa, so I was likely not a suitable candidate.
As is common in NYC – a city where opportunities abound – she responded: “That can be arranged. How soon can you begin?” I never got on that flight to London.
I worked there for a trio of years. An advantage of the role was that I got no-cost classes at Columbia, and I seized the chance to earn a master’s of international affairs.
I lost touch with him and I don’t even know his full name, but his incredible act of kindness altered my destiny in numerous aspects. I lacked the confidence or self-belief to contact anyone at an elite institution and request employment. Moreover, I had long dreamed to study abroad, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that educational benefit.
What's more, that gig at Columbia led me to a role in Europe where I met my handsome spouse from France, 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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