In the closing decade of the 80s, I was embarking on a low-cost journey to the European continent with a travel partner. Because my travel mate was interested in starting a postgraduate program in NYC, we had arranged a 14-day stopover there before heading to London.
We got to the graduate housing, a big multi-story edifice on the Manhattan's Upper West Side named International House. After dropping our bags, we headed straight to the canteen, where we picked up meals, found a table, and engaged in conversation with fellow residents.
Sitting next to me was an Iraqi man enrolled in an engineering program at Columbia University. He asked me what I did for a living, and I shared that I had recently completed my studies with a degree in science and had been working on studies with electron microscopy.
He mentioned that there was an electron microscope unit at the university – right next door to the school of engineering, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He suggested that I consider applying for a role with them. I laughed it off, explaining that I was soon departing to Europe and, more critically, I did not possess a US visa.
A day later I toured the city, returning to the canteen that after dark. The Iraqi student came up to me and let me know that he had set up a meeting for me with the leader of the research team at Columbia. Since he had taken the effort, I went to the meeting – but straight off explained to my host that I was without a work permit, so I was likely not a suitable candidate.
Reflecting the city's spirit – a place where everything seems achievable – she responded: “That can be arranged. What's your start date?” I missed my plane to London.
I worked there for 36 months. A perk of the job was that I was granted free tuition at Columbia, and I seized the chance to finish a graduate degree in global studies.
I lost touch with him and I am unaware of his identity, but his remarkable generosity transformed my future in so many ways. I would never have had the courage or nerve to reach out at an elite institution and request employment. Additionally, I had consistently hoped to pursue education overseas, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that free tuition.
Perhaps most importantly, that role at the university led me to a position in Switzerland where I got to know my beautiful French husband, with whom I now have four wonderful sons and daughters. This was a pivotal life event. That benevolent individual set me on a different course in life, and I’m forever grateful.
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