In the late 1980s, I set out on a low-cost journey to Europe with a companion. Because my travel mate was exploring starting a postgraduate program in New York, we had arranged a fortnight visit there en route to London.
We reached the graduate housing, a large multi-story edifice on the UWS known as International House. After dropping our bags, we made our way to the dining hall, where we grabbed food, sat down, and started talking to people eating there.
Beside me 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 recently completed my studies with a degree in science and had been working on studies with electron microscopy.
He pointed out that there was an electron microscope unit at the university – close to the engineering department, which was why he was aware of it. He proposed that I should apply for a position with them. I dismissed the idea, telling him that I was heading off to Europe and, more critically, I lacked a US visa.
The next day I went out exploring, going back to the cafeteria that night. The man from Iraq came up to me and informed me that he had organized a discussion for me with the director of the microscopy lab at Columbia. Given that he had taken the effort, I went to the meeting – but immediately informed my prospective employer that I didn’t have a visa, so I was probably wasting her time.
Reflecting the city's spirit – a metropolis where opportunities abound – she said: “That can be arranged. When can you start?” I never got on that flight to London.
I worked there for three years. A perk of the job was that I also received no-cost classes at Columbia, and I took advantage to complete a master’s of international affairs.
I never saw that student again and I am unaware of his full name, but his incredible act of kindness changed my life in so many ways. I lacked the courage or self-assurance to contact anyone at an Ivy League university and ask for a job. Moreover, I had long dreamed to take classes in another country, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that tuition waiver.
What's more, that job in New York led me to a position in Switzerland where I encountered my handsome spouse from France, with whom I am raising four amazing children. That encounter altered everything. That helpful person redirected my path in life, and I’m forever grateful.
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