During the late 1980s, I was beginning a low-cost journey to Europe with a companion. Since my friend was interested in pursuing a master’s degree in the Big Apple, we had planned a fortnight visit there on the way to London.
We got to the student accommodation, a big ten-floor structure on the UWS called International House. Once we unpacked, we made our way to the canteen, where we got some food, found a table, and began chatting with people eating there.
Beside me was an Iraqi man pursuing an engineering degree at an Ivy League institution. He asked me what I my profession was, and I told him that I had just graduated with a degree in science and had been working on studies with electron microscopy.
He mentioned that there was an research lab at the institution – close to the engineering department, which was how he knew about it. He recommended that I ought to seek a job with them. I laughed it off, telling him that I was heading off to Europe and, additionally, I lacked a US visa.
A day later I went out exploring, going back to the cafeteria that night. The Iraqi student walked over to me and told me that he had arranged an interview for me with the director of the microscopy lab at Columbia. Given that he had gone to the trouble, I went to the meeting – but right away told my prospective employer that I didn’t have a visa, so I was unable to accept the role.
Reflecting the city's spirit – a place where anything feels possible – she declared: “We can make that happen. How soon can you begin?” I didn't board the aircraft to London.
I worked there for 36 months. A perk of the job was that I got complimentary education at Columbia, and I seized the chance to complete a master’s of international affairs.
I never saw that student again and I am unaware of his full name, but his selfless gesture changed my life in so many ways. I didn't possess the courage or nerve to approach someone at an Ivy League university and ask for a job. And, I had long dreamed to study abroad, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that tuition waiver.
What's more, that gig at Columbia led me to a role in Europe where I encountered my handsome spouse from France, with whom I am raising a family of four kids. That encounter altered everything. That kind stranger redirected my path in life, and I’m forever grateful.
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