During the late 1980s, I was embarking on a backpacking trip to Europe with a companion. Because my friend was exploring enrolling in graduate studies in the Big Apple, we had arranged a two-week stay there before heading to London.
We got to the postgrad residence, a sizeable ten-floor structure on the UWS called International House. Setting down our luggage, we made our way to the cafeteria, where we grabbed food, sat down, and began chatting with fellow residents.
Beside me was an gentleman from Iraq enrolled in an engineering program at a prestigious New York university. He wanted to know what I did, and I explained that I had just graduated with a degree in science and had been working on studies with electron microscopy.
He noted that there was an microscopy facility at Columbia University – adjacent to the engineering faculty, which was why he was aware of it. He recommended that I ought to seek a job with them. I chuckled at the suggestion, telling him that I was about to fly to Europe and, additionally, I didn’t have a US visa.
The next day I went out exploring, going back to the cafeteria that night. The engineering student walked over to me and let me know that he had set up a meeting for me with the leader of the research team at Columbia. Because he had made the arrangement, I went to the meeting – but immediately explained to my prospective employer that I lacked the necessary visa, so I was probably wasting her time.
Reflecting the city's spirit – a city where opportunities abound – she responded: “We'll handle it. When can you start?” I missed my plane to London.
I was employed there for three years. A perk of the job was that I got complimentary education at Columbia, and I seized the chance to earn a graduate degree in global studies.
We didn't cross paths after that and I can't recall his identity, but his incredible act of kindness altered my destiny in so many ways. I would never have had the courage or self-belief to contact anyone at an Ivy League university and seek a position. Additionally, I had consistently hoped to study abroad, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that tuition waiver.
Perhaps most importantly, that job in New York led me to a position in Switzerland where I met my beautiful French husband, with whom I now have four amazing children. This was a pivotal life event. That helpful person changed my trajectory in life, and I’m forever grateful.
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