During the final years of the 1980s, I set out on a low-cost journey to the European continent with a travel partner. Since my friend was considering pursuing a master’s degree in NYC, we had booked a 14-day stopover there on the way to London.
We got to the graduate housing, a sizeable multi-story edifice on the Upper West Side known as International House. Once we unpacked, we headed straight to the canteen, where we picked up meals, found a table, and began chatting with fellow residents.
Beside me was an individual of Iraqi origin pursuing an engineering degree at a prestigious New York university. He asked me what I did, and I told him that I had just graduated with a scientific background and had been working on studies with electron microscopy.
He pointed out that there was an electron microscope unit at Columbia University – right next door to the school of engineering, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He proposed that I should apply for a position with them. I laughed it off, saying that I was soon departing to Europe and, even more importantly, I didn’t have a US visa.
A day later I toured the city, returning to the canteen that night. The engineering student came up 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 taken the effort, I attended the interview – but right away told my prospective employer that I didn’t have a visa, so I was probably wasting her time.
Reflecting the city's spirit – a place where everything seems achievable – she said: “That can be arranged. What's your start date?” I never got on that flight to London.
I worked there for a trio of years. A perk of the job was that I was granted complimentary education at Columbia, and I seized the chance to earn a graduate degree in global studies.
I never saw that student again and I can't recall his identity, but his remarkable generosity changed my life in numerous aspects. I would never have had the bravery or self-assurance to approach someone at an prestigious college and seek a position. And, I had long dreamed to pursue education overseas, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that tuition waiver.
What's more, that role at the university paved the way for a role in Europe where I met my handsome spouse from France, with whom I now have four wonderful sons and daughters. That encounter altered everything. That kind stranger redirected my path in life, and I’m always appreciative.
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