In the final years of the 1980s, I was embarking on a low-cost journey to the European continent with a travel partner. Because my travel mate was interested in starting a postgraduate program in New York, we had planned a fortnight visit there before heading to London.
We reached the student accommodation, a big 10-storey building on the Manhattan's Upper West Side called International House. Once we unpacked, we headed straight to the cafeteria, where we got some food, sat down, and began chatting with other diners.
Beside me was an individual of Iraqi origin studying engineering at a prestigious New York university. He asked me what I did for a living, and I explained that I had just graduated with a scientific background and had been performing experiments with electron microscopy.
He mentioned that there was an research lab at the institution – adjacent to the school of engineering, which was how he knew about it. He recommended that I should apply for a job with them. I chuckled at the suggestion, saying that I was soon departing to Europe and, more critically, I didn’t have a US visa.
The next day I toured the city, going back to the cafeteria that after dark. The man from Iraq 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 made the arrangement, I showed up for the discussion – but right away told my prospective employer that I lacked the necessary visa, so I was unable to accept the role.
Reflecting the city's spirit – a city where everything seems achievable – she declared: “That can be arranged. When can you start?” I never got on that flight to London.
I worked there for 36 months. An advantage of the role was that I was granted free tuition at Columbia, and I seized the chance to finish a graduate degree in global studies.
We didn't cross paths after that and I am unaware of his full name, but his remarkable generosity changed my life in numerous aspects. I would never have had the confidence or nerve to approach someone at an elite institution and request employment. And, I had long dreamed to study abroad, but could never have afforded it without that free tuition.
What's more, that gig at Columbia 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 helpful person set me on a different course in life, and I’m eternally thankful.
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