During the final years of the 1980s, I was beginning a budget travel adventure to Europe with a travel partner. Because my travel mate was interested in starting a postgraduate program in the Big Apple, we had arranged a two-week stay there en route to London.
We got to the student accommodation, a big multi-story edifice on the Upper West Side known as International House. Once we unpacked, we headed straight to the dining hall, where we picked up meals, took a seat, and engaged in conversation with fellow residents.
Adjacent to my seat was an gentleman from Iraq enrolled in an engineering program at an Ivy League institution. He inquired what I my profession was, and I explained that I had just graduated with a scientific background and had been conducting research with electron microscopy.
He pointed out that there was an microscopy facility at Columbia University – close to the school of engineering, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He suggested that I consider applying for a role with them. I chuckled at the suggestion, saying that I was heading off to Europe and, more critically, I didn’t have a US visa.
The following day I ventured out, coming back to the dining hall that night. The Iraqi student approached me and let me know that he had organized a discussion for me with the head of the electron microscope unit at Columbia. Since he had gone to the trouble, I went to the meeting – but straight off informed my interviewer that I didn’t have a visa, so I was likely not a suitable candidate.
In typical New York fashion – a city where everything seems achievable – she declared: “We'll handle it. When can you start?” I never got on that flight to London.
I was employed there for 36 months. An advantage of the role was that I was granted no-cost classes at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to complete a graduate degree in global studies.
I never saw that student again and I am unaware of his full name, but his remarkable generosity changed my life in numerous aspects. I lacked the bravery or self-assurance to reach out at an Ivy League university and ask for a job. Moreover, I had always wanted to take classes in another country, but could never have afforded it without that educational benefit.
Perhaps most importantly, that role at the university led me to 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 helpful person changed my trajectory in life, and I’m always appreciative.
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