During the closing decade of the 80s, I was embarking on a low-cost journey to the European continent with a companion. Because my friend was exploring starting a postgraduate program in NYC, we had planned a two-week stay there on the way to London.
We arrived at the postgrad residence, a large multi-story edifice on the Upper West Side called International House. After dropping our bags, we headed straight to the dining hall, where we got some food, took a seat, and began chatting with other diners.
Beside me was an gentleman from Iraq enrolled in an engineering program at Columbia University. He inquired what I did for a living, and I shared that I had just graduated with a science degree and had been working on studies with electron microscopy.
He noted that there was an microscopy facility at the university – adjacent to the engineering department, which was how he knew about it. He suggested that I consider applying for a job with them. I laughed it off, saying that I was about to fly to Europe and, additionally, I did not possess a US visa.
The next day I toured the city, coming back to the dining hall that night. The Iraqi student came up to me and let me know that he had set up a meeting for me with the head of the electron microscope unit at Columbia. Given that he had taken the effort, I attended the interview – but immediately told my prospective employer that I lacked the necessary visa, so I was probably wasting her time.
In typical New York fashion – a metropolis where anything feels possible – she declared: “That can be arranged. When can you start?” I didn't board the aircraft to London.
I was employed there for 36 months. A perk of the job was that I also received no-cost classes at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to complete a graduate degree in global studies.
I lost touch with him and I can't recall his full name, but his selfless gesture altered my destiny in numerous aspects. I didn't possess the bravery or nerve to approach someone at an prestigious college and request employment. And, I had always wanted to study abroad, but could never have afforded it without that free tuition.
Critically, that job in New York led me to a role in Europe where I got to know my handsome spouse from France, with whom I currently share a family of four kids. This was a pivotal life event. That benevolent individual changed my trajectory in life, and I’m forever grateful.
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