In the closing decade of the 80s, I set out on a budget travel adventure to Europe with a travel partner. Since my companion was considering pursuing a master’s degree in New York, we had arranged a 14-day stopover there on the way to London.
We got to the postgrad residence, a sizeable ten-floor structure on the Manhattan's Upper West Side called International House. Once we unpacked, we went directly to the dining hall, where we got some food, sat down, and began chatting with fellow residents.
Beside me was an gentleman from Iraq pursuing an engineering degree at Columbia University. He asked me what I did, and I told him that I had recently completed my studies with a science degree and had been performing experiments using an electron microscope.
He mentioned that there was an research lab at the university – adjacent to the engineering department, which was how he knew about it. He suggested that I consider applying for a job with them. I laughed it off, saying that I was heading off to Europe and, more critically, I lacked a US visa.
A day later I ventured out, going back to the cafeteria that after dark. The man from Iraq came up to me and informed me 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 attended the interview – but right away informed my prospective employer that I was without a work permit, so I was unable to accept the role.
In typical New York fashion – a place where anything feels possible – she said: “We'll handle it. What's your start date?” I missed my plane to London.
I worked there for a trio of years. One of the benefits was that I got complimentary education at Columbia, and I seized the chance to earn a master’s of international affairs.
I lost touch with him and I don’t even know his full name, but his remarkable generosity changed my life in multiple respects. I would never have had the bravery or self-belief to contact anyone at an Ivy League university and request employment. And, I had long dreamed to pursue education overseas, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that educational benefit.
Perhaps most importantly, that gig at Columbia paved the way for a position in Switzerland where I met my handsome spouse from France, with whom I am raising four amazing children. That encounter altered everything. That helpful person set me on a different course in life, and I’m forever grateful.
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