In the final years of the 1980s, I was beginning a low-cost journey to Europe with a companion. Since my companion was exploring enrolling in graduate studies in New York, we had booked a fortnight visit there en route to London.
We reached the graduate housing, a sizeable multi-story edifice on the Manhattan's Upper West Side called International House. Setting down our luggage, we headed straight to the canteen, where we grabbed food, took a seat, and started talking to people eating there.
Beside me was an Iraqi man enrolled in an engineering program at Columbia University. He wanted to know what I my profession was, and I shared that I had newly finished with a degree in science and had been conducting research involving microscopic analysis.
He pointed out that there was an research lab at Columbia University – close to the engineering department, which was how he knew about it. He suggested that I should apply for a position with them. I dismissed the idea, telling him that I was heading off to Europe and, even more importantly, I didn’t have a US visa.
A day later I ventured out, coming back to the dining hall that after dark. The engineering student approached me and told me that he had arranged an interview for me with the leader of the research team at Columbia. Because he had gone to the trouble, I went to the meeting – but right away informed my host that I lacked the necessary visa, so I was unable to accept the role.
As is common in NYC – a city where everything seems achievable – she responded: “We'll handle it. How soon can you begin?” I missed my plane to London.
I worked there for a trio of years. One of the benefits was that I also received no-cost classes at Columbia, and I took advantage to finish a graduate degree in global studies.
We didn't cross paths after that and I am unaware of his name, but his selfless gesture altered my destiny in numerous aspects. I would never have had the bravery or self-belief to contact anyone at an Ivy League university and ask for a job. Additionally, I had consistently hoped to pursue education overseas, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that tuition waiver.
What's more, that job in New York led me to a position in Switzerland where I met my beautiful French husband, with whom I currently share four amazing children. That encounter altered everything. That helpful person changed my trajectory in life, and I’m forever grateful.
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