During the late 1980s, I was embarking on a low-cost journey to the European continent with a friend. Because my companion was exploring starting a postgraduate program in the Big Apple, we had arranged a 14-day stopover there en route to London.
We got to the student accommodation, a sizeable ten-floor structure on the UWS called International House. Setting down our luggage, we made our way to the cafeteria, where we got some food, sat down, and began chatting with fellow residents.
Sitting next to me was an gentleman from Iraq studying engineering at Columbia University. He asked me what I did, and I shared that I had just graduated with a scientific background and had been conducting research using an electron microscope.
He noted that there was an microscopy facility at Columbia University – adjacent to the engineering faculty, which was why he was aware of it. He proposed that I consider applying for a role with them. I dismissed the idea, explaining that I was heading off to Europe and, even more importantly, I didn’t have a US visa.
The following day I toured the city, returning to the canteen that evening. The engineering student walked over to me and informed me that he had set up a meeting for me with the director of the microscopy lab at Columbia. Since he had taken the effort, I attended the interview – but right away told my prospective employer that I lacked the necessary visa, so I was probably wasting her time.
In typical New York fashion – a city where opportunities abound – she said: “That can be arranged. How soon can you begin?” I missed my plane to London.
I held that position for three years. One of the benefits was that I also received no-cost classes at Columbia, and I took advantage to complete a postgrad program in international relations.
We didn't cross paths after that and I am unaware of his identity, but his remarkable generosity transformed my future in multiple respects. I didn't possess the courage or self-belief to contact anyone at an Ivy League university and request employment. Moreover, I had consistently hoped to pursue education overseas, but lacked the financial means without that free tuition.
Critically, that role at the university resulted in a position in Switzerland where I encountered my handsome spouse from France, with whom I now have four wonderful sons and daughters. That encounter altered everything. That helpful person redirected my path in life, and I’m forever grateful.
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