In the final years of the 1980s, I was embarking on a budget travel adventure to the European continent with a friend. Because my companion was exploring starting a postgraduate program in the Big Apple, we had booked a two-week stay there before heading to London.
We reached the graduate housing, a large ten-floor structure on the Upper West Side known as International House. After dropping our bags, we went directly to the cafeteria, where we got some food, found a table, and started talking to other diners.
Adjacent to my seat was an gentleman from Iraq enrolled in an engineering program at an Ivy League institution. He asked me what I did, and I shared that I had newly finished with a scientific background and had been conducting research using an electron microscope.
He pointed out that there was an research lab at the institution – adjacent to the school of engineering, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He proposed that I consider applying for a job with them. I laughed it off, saying that I was about to fly to Europe and, more critically, I didn’t have a US visa.
The following day I went out exploring, going back to the cafeteria that evening. The man from Iraq approached me and let me know that he had set up a meeting for me with the director of the microscopy lab at Columbia. Since he had taken the effort, I showed up for the discussion – but immediately informed my prospective employer that I lacked the necessary visa, so I was unable to accept the role.
As is common in NYC – a metropolis where opportunities abound – she said: “We can make that happen. When can you start?” I never got on that flight to London.
I held that position for three years. A perk of the job was that I got complimentary education at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to earn a graduate degree in global studies.
I never saw that student again and I don’t even know his full name, but his remarkable generosity altered my destiny in so many ways. I would never have had the bravery or nerve to contact anyone at an prestigious college and ask for a job. And, I had always wanted to study abroad, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that free tuition.
What's more, that role at the university resulted in a position in Switzerland where I encountered my handsome spouse from France, with whom I currently share four amazing children. This was a pivotal life event. That benevolent individual set me on a different course in life, and I’m always appreciative.
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