In the final years of the 1980s, I was beginning a budget travel adventure to the European continent with a companion. Since my travel mate was considering pursuing a master’s degree in the Big Apple, we had arranged a fortnight visit there on the way to London.
We arrived at the student accommodation, a sizeable 10-storey building on the Manhattan's Upper West Side known as International House. After dropping our bags, we went directly to the canteen, where we grabbed food, sat down, and engaged in conversation with fellow residents.
Sitting next to me was an Iraqi man studying engineering at a prestigious New York university. He asked me what I did for a living, and I shared that I had just graduated with a scientific background and had been performing experiments involving microscopic analysis.
He pointed out that there was an microscopy facility at the institution – adjacent to the school of engineering, which was how he knew about it. He suggested that I consider applying for a job with them. I dismissed the idea, telling him that I was heading off to Europe and, more critically, I didn’t have a US visa.
The next day I toured the city, coming back to the dining hall that evening. The man from Iraq came up to me and told me that he had arranged an interview 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 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: “We can make that happen. What's your start date?” I didn't board the aircraft to London.
I worked there for three years. An advantage of the role was that I was granted no-cost classes at Columbia, and I used the opportunity 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 confidence or self-assurance to reach out at an elite institution and seek a position. Moreover, I had consistently hoped to study abroad, but could never have afforded it without that free tuition.
Critically, that role at the university resulted in a role in Europe where I got to know my beautiful French husband, with whom I currently share a family of four kids. This was a pivotal life event. That helpful person redirected my path in life, and I’m eternally thankful.
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