In the closing decade of the 80s, I set out on a low-cost journey to the European continent with a travel partner. Because my companion was considering enrolling in graduate studies in New York, we had planned a fortnight visit there on the way to London.
We reached the student accommodation, a large 10-storey building on the Manhattan's Upper West Side known as International House. After dropping our bags, we made our way to the canteen, where we got some food, found a table, and started talking to fellow residents.
Adjacent to my seat was an Iraqi man enrolled in an engineering program at an Ivy League institution. He inquired what I did for a living, and I told him that I had just graduated with a scientific background and had been performing experiments using an electron microscope.
He noted 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 role with them. I chuckled at the suggestion, saying that I was soon departing to Europe and, additionally, I lacked a US visa.
A day later I ventured out, returning to the canteen that evening. The man from Iraq came up to me and informed me that he had organized a discussion for me with the leader of the research team at Columbia. Given that he had gone to the trouble, I showed up for the discussion – but right away explained to my host that I was without a work permit, so I was probably wasting her time.
Reflecting the city's spirit – a metropolis where anything feels possible – she said: “We'll handle it. When can you start?” I never got on that flight to London.
I was employed there for 36 months. One of the benefits was that I also received free tuition at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to earn a master’s of international affairs.
We didn't cross paths after that and I am unaware of his name, but his remarkable generosity changed my life in numerous aspects. I didn't possess the confidence or nerve to contact anyone at an elite institution and ask for a job. Moreover, I had always wanted to study abroad, but could never have afforded it without that tuition waiver.
Perhaps most importantly, that gig at Columbia paved the way for a role in Europe where I met my beautiful French husband, with whom I now have a family of four kids. That encounter altered everything. That helpful person set me on a different course in life, and I’m always appreciative.
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