In the final years of the 1980s, I was beginning a low-cost journey to Europe with a companion. Because my companion was considering starting a postgraduate program in the Big Apple, we had arranged a 14-day stopover there on the way to London.
We reached the postgrad residence, a large 10-storey building on the Upper West Side named International House. Setting down our luggage, we made our way to the dining hall, where we grabbed food, found a table, and engaged in conversation with people eating there.
Beside me was an Iraqi man 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 mentioned that there was an electron microscope unit at the institution – right next door to the school of engineering, which was why he was aware of it. He recommended that I should apply for a position with them. I laughed it off, saying that I was soon departing to Europe and, additionally, I lacked a US visa.
A day later I went out exploring, coming back to the dining hall that after dark. The Iraqi student approached me and let me know that he had set up a meeting for me with the head of the electron microscope unit at Columbia. Because he had gone to the trouble, I attended the interview – but right away informed my host that I was without a work permit, so I was unable to accept the role.
In typical New York fashion – a city where anything feels possible – she said: “We can make that happen. How soon can you begin?” I didn't board the aircraft to London.
I held that position for three years. A perk of the job was that I also received complimentary education at Columbia, and I seized the chance to complete a postgrad program in international relations.
I never saw that student again and I don’t even know his full name, but his selfless gesture transformed my future in multiple respects. I didn't possess the confidence or self-belief to reach out at an elite institution and request employment. Moreover, I had consistently hoped to study abroad, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that tuition waiver.
Critically, that gig at Columbia paved the way for a position in Switzerland where I encountered my beautiful French husband, with whom I now have four amazing children. That encounter altered everything. That benevolent individual redirected my path in life, and I’m forever grateful.
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