In the closing decade of the 80s, I was embarking on a budget travel adventure to the European continent with a friend. Since my companion was exploring enrolling in graduate studies in NYC, we had arranged a 14-day stopover there en route to London.
We reached the graduate housing, a big ten-floor structure on the UWS named International House. After dropping our bags, we headed straight to the dining hall, where we grabbed food, found a table, and began chatting with other diners.
Adjacent to my seat was an Iraqi man enrolled in an engineering program at a prestigious New York university. He inquired what I my profession was, and I explained that I had recently completed my studies with a scientific background and had been performing experiments with electron microscopy.
He noted that there was an microscopy facility at the institution – adjacent to the engineering department, which was why he was aware of it. He recommended that I ought to seek a role with them. I chuckled at the suggestion, saying that I was soon departing to Europe and, even more importantly, I lacked a US visa.
A day later I toured the city, going back to the cafeteria that evening. The man from Iraq walked over to me and told me that he had set up a meeting for me with the director of the microscopy lab at Columbia. Since he had made the arrangement, I went to the meeting – but straight off told my interviewer that I didn’t have a visa, so I was likely not a suitable candidate.
Reflecting the city's spirit – a city where everything seems achievable – she declared: “We'll handle it. How soon can you begin?” I never got on that flight to London.
I held that position for three years. A perk of the job was that I also received no-cost classes at Columbia, and I took advantage to complete a postgrad program in international relations.
I never saw that student again and I can't recall his name, but his selfless gesture transformed my future in so many ways. I didn't possess the bravery or self-belief to approach someone at an prestigious college and ask for a job. Moreover, I had consistently hoped to pursue education overseas, but could never have afforded it without that educational benefit.
Perhaps most importantly, that role at the university resulted in a position in Switzerland where I got to know my beautiful French husband, with whom I currently share a family of four kids. That encounter altered everything. That benevolent individual set me on a different course in life, and I’m forever grateful.
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