In the final years of the 1980s, I set out on a low-cost journey to the European continent with a friend. Since my travel mate was considering pursuing a master’s degree in New York, we had booked a 14-day stopover there before heading to London.
We arrived at the student accommodation, a big ten-floor structure on the Upper West Side called International House. After dropping our bags, we headed straight to the cafeteria, where we grabbed food, sat down, and began chatting with fellow residents.
Sitting next to me was an individual of Iraqi origin pursuing an engineering degree at an Ivy League institution. He asked me what I did, and I told him that I had just graduated with a scientific background and had been working on studies using an electron microscope.
He mentioned that there was an electron microscope unit at the university – right next door to the engineering faculty, which was how he knew about it. He suggested that I consider applying for a role with them. I dismissed the idea, saying that I was heading off to Europe and, more critically, I lacked a US visa.
A day later I went out exploring, returning to the canteen that night. The engineering student came up to me and let me know that he had organized a discussion for me with the head of the electron microscope unit at Columbia. Given that he had gone to the trouble, I went to the meeting – but straight off told my host that I didn’t have a visa, so I was probably wasting her time.
As is common in NYC – a metropolis where opportunities abound – she responded: “That can be arranged. How soon can you begin?” I didn't board the aircraft to London.
I was employed there for a trio of years. An advantage of the role was that I was granted complimentary education at Columbia, and I took advantage to finish a master’s of international affairs.
I never saw that student again and I am unaware of his name, but his remarkable generosity altered my destiny in so many ways. I didn't possess the courage or nerve to approach someone at an prestigious college and ask for a job. Moreover, I had always wanted to study abroad, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that tuition waiver.
What's more, that role at the university resulted in a role in Europe where I encountered 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 eternally thankful.
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