During the closing decade of the 80s, I set out on a backpacking trip to the European continent with a travel partner. Because my companion was exploring pursuing a master’s degree in New York, we had arranged a fortnight visit there en route to London.
We got to the graduate housing, a big multi-story edifice on the Manhattan's Upper West Side known as International House. After dropping our bags, we went directly to the dining hall, where we got some food, found a table, and began chatting with other diners.
Sitting next to me was an gentleman from Iraq enrolled in an engineering program at an Ivy League institution. He inquired what I my profession was, and I shared that I had recently completed my studies with a scientific background and had been working on studies with electron microscopy.
He mentioned that there was an microscopy facility at the institution – close to the engineering department, which was how he knew about it. He proposed that I ought to seek a position with them. I chuckled at the suggestion, saying that I was about to fly to Europe and, more critically, I lacked a US visa.
The following day I went out exploring, coming back to the dining hall that evening. The Iraqi student came up to me and let me know that he had set up a meeting 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 immediately informed my interviewer that I didn’t have a visa, so I was likely not a suitable candidate.
As is common in NYC – a metropolis where everything seems achievable – she responded: “We can make that happen. How soon can you begin?” I missed my plane to London.
I was employed there for a trio of years. One of the benefits was that I also received free tuition at Columbia, and I took advantage to complete a graduate degree in global studies.
I lost touch with him and I am unaware of his full name, but his remarkable generosity transformed my future in so many ways. I didn't possess the bravery or self-belief to reach out at an elite institution and seek a position. And, I had always wanted to take classes in another country, but lacked the financial means without that free tuition.
What's more, that role at the university paved the way for a role in Europe where I encountered my beautiful French husband, with whom I now have four amazing children. That encounter altered everything. That benevolent individual changed my trajectory in life, and I’m forever grateful.
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