In the final years of the 1980s, I was embarking on a backpacking trip to Europe with a friend. Because my travel mate was considering starting a postgraduate program in New York, we had booked a two-week stay there en route to London.
We arrived at the student accommodation, a big ten-floor structure on the Upper West Side called International House. Setting down our luggage, we went directly to the canteen, where we got some food, sat down, and engaged in conversation with people eating there.
Sitting next to me was an individual of Iraqi origin enrolled in an engineering program at a prestigious New York university. He asked me what I did, and I explained that I had recently completed my studies with a scientific background and had been working on studies using an electron microscope.
He noted that there was an electron microscope unit at Columbia University – close to the engineering faculty, which was how he knew about it. He proposed that I consider applying for a position with them. I chuckled at the suggestion, saying that I was about to fly to Europe and, additionally, I lacked a US visa.
The following day I toured the city, going back to the cafeteria that night. The man from Iraq approached me and informed me that he had arranged an interview for me with the leader of the research team at Columbia. Given that he had gone to the trouble, I showed up for the discussion – but straight off explained to my host that I was without a work permit, so I was probably wasting her time.
As is common in NYC – a place where opportunities abound – she declared: “We'll handle it. When can you start?” I missed my plane 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 took advantage to complete a postgrad program in international relations.
I lost touch with him and I don’t even know his name, but his selfless gesture transformed my future in multiple respects. I lacked the bravery or self-assurance to contact anyone at an prestigious college and ask for a job. Additionally, I had long dreamed to study abroad, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that tuition waiver.
What's more, that role at the university resulted in a job in Zurich where I met my beautiful French husband, 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 forever grateful.
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