During the late 1980s, I was embarking on a low-cost journey to the European continent with a companion. Because my companion was considering pursuing a master’s degree in New York, we had arranged a two-week stay there on the way to London.
We arrived at the student accommodation, a large multi-story edifice on the UWS known as International House. After dropping our bags, we went directly to the dining hall, where we picked up meals, sat down, and began chatting with fellow residents.
Adjacent to my seat was an individual of Iraqi origin enrolled in an engineering program at an Ivy League institution. He inquired what I did for a living, and I shared that I had newly finished with a science degree and had been performing experiments using an electron microscope.
He noted that there was an microscopy facility at Columbia University – right next door to the engineering department, which was why he was aware of it. He recommended that I ought to seek a job with them. I chuckled at the suggestion, saying that I was heading off to Europe and, even more importantly, I didn’t have a US visa.
A day later I toured the city, coming back to the dining hall that night. The engineering student walked over to me and let me know that he had organized a discussion for me with the head of the electron microscope unit at Columbia. Since he had gone to the trouble, I showed up for the discussion – but straight off told my prospective employer that I was without a work permit, so I was likely not a suitable candidate.
In typical New York fashion – a place where anything feels possible – she declared: “That can be arranged. What's your start date?” I never got on that flight to London.
I held that position for a trio of years. A perk of the job was that I got no-cost classes at Columbia, and I took advantage to earn a master’s of international affairs.
I lost touch with him and I don’t even know his identity, but his selfless gesture transformed my future in so many ways. I would never have had the courage or self-belief to reach out at an prestigious college and seek a position. Moreover, I had consistently hoped to take classes in another country, but lacked the financial means without that educational benefit.
What's more, that job in New York led me to a position in Switzerland where I encountered my beautiful French husband, with whom I currently share a family of four kids. This was a pivotal life event. That helpful person set me on a different course in life, and I’m eternally thankful.
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