In the final years of the 1980s, I was beginning a low-cost journey to Europe with a friend. Since my travel mate was exploring starting a postgraduate program in New York, we had planned a fortnight visit there en route to London.
We got to the student accommodation, a sizeable 10-storey building on the Manhattan's Upper West Side known as International House. Setting down our luggage, we went directly to the dining hall, where we picked up meals, found a table, and engaged in conversation with fellow residents.
Beside me was an gentleman from Iraq studying engineering at Columbia University. He inquired what I did for a living, and I shared that I had recently completed my studies with a science degree and had been performing experiments involving microscopic analysis.
He noted that there was an research lab at Columbia University – close to the engineering faculty, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He proposed that I ought to seek a role with them. I chuckled at the suggestion, saying that I was about to fly to Europe and, even more importantly, I didn’t have a US visa.
A day later I ventured out, coming back to the dining hall that night. The man from Iraq came up to me and let me know that he had set up a meeting for me with the director of the microscopy lab at Columbia. Because he had gone to the trouble, I went to the meeting – but immediately told my interviewer that I didn’t have a visa, so I was likely not a suitable candidate.
Reflecting the city's spirit – a metropolis where opportunities abound – she declared: “We can make that happen. 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 also received free tuition at Columbia, and I took advantage to complete a postgrad program in international relations.
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 lacked the bravery or self-belief to contact anyone at an prestigious college and ask for a job. Moreover, I had long dreamed to pursue education overseas, but lacked the financial means without that educational benefit.
Perhaps most importantly, that role at the university resulted in a role in Europe where I met my handsome spouse from France, with whom I currently share four amazing children. That encounter altered everything. That helpful person redirected my path in life, and I’m eternally thankful.
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