In the late 1980s, I was embarking on a budget travel adventure to the European continent with a companion. Because my companion was interested in pursuing a master’s degree in NYC, we had arranged a two-week stay there before heading to London.
We arrived at the postgrad residence, a big ten-floor structure on the Manhattan's Upper West Side known as International House. Once we unpacked, we made our way to the cafeteria, where we grabbed food, sat down, and started talking to people eating there.
Sitting next to me was an gentleman from Iraq studying engineering at Columbia University. He inquired what I did for a living, and I explained that I had recently completed my studies with a scientific background and had been conducting research with electron microscopy.
He noted that there was an research lab at the institution – close to the school of engineering, which was how he knew about it. He proposed that I consider applying for a job with them. I laughed it off, telling him that I was about to fly to Europe and, more critically, I lacked a US visa.
The next day I toured the city, going back to the cafeteria that night. The man from Iraq came up to me and informed me that he had set up a meeting for me with the head of the electron microscope unit at Columbia. Since he had taken the effort, I showed up for the discussion – but right away informed my prospective employer that I didn’t have a visa, so I was likely not a suitable candidate.
Reflecting the city's spirit – a metropolis where opportunities abound – she declared: “That can be arranged. How soon can you begin?” I didn't board the aircraft to London.
I worked there for a trio of years. One of the benefits was that I was granted free tuition at Columbia, and I took advantage to complete a master’s of international affairs.
I lost touch with him and I don’t even know his name, but his remarkable generosity altered my destiny in multiple respects. I lacked the courage or self-belief to reach out at an Ivy League university and ask for a job. And, I had long dreamed to take classes in another country, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that free tuition.
What's more, that role at the university paved the way for a position in Switzerland where I encountered my beautiful French husband, with whom I am raising a family of four kids. That encounter altered everything. That kind stranger set me on a different course in life, and I’m forever grateful.
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