During the final years of the 1980s, I set out on a budget travel adventure to Europe with a companion. Because my companion was considering pursuing a master’s degree in NYC, we had booked a two-week stay there en route to London.
We got to the postgrad residence, a sizeable 10-storey building on the Upper West Side known as International House. Setting down our luggage, we headed straight to the canteen, where we grabbed food, sat down, and engaged in conversation with other diners.
Sitting next to me was an Iraqi man enrolled in an engineering program at a prestigious New York university. He inquired what I did, and I shared that I had recently completed my studies with a degree in science and had been working on studies using an electron microscope.
He pointed out that there was an electron microscope unit at Columbia University – right next door to the engineering faculty, which was how he knew about it. He recommended that I consider applying for a role with them. I dismissed the idea, saying that I was soon departing to Europe and, even more importantly, I didn’t have a US visa.
The next day I toured the city, returning to the canteen that evening. The man from Iraq came up to me and let me know that he had arranged an interview for me with the leader of the research team at Columbia. Since he had gone to the trouble, I went to the meeting – but immediately told my prospective employer that I didn’t have a visa, so I was likely not a suitable candidate.
As is common in NYC – a city where everything seems achievable – she declared: “We'll handle it. How soon can you begin?” I missed my plane to London.
I worked there for 36 months. One of the benefits was that I also received free tuition at Columbia, and I took advantage to complete a graduate degree in global studies.
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 lacked the bravery or self-assurance to contact anyone at an Ivy League university and seek a position. And, I had always wanted to pursue education overseas, but lacked the financial means without that free tuition.
Perhaps most importantly, that role at the university resulted in a role in Europe where I met my beautiful French husband, with whom I currently share a family of four kids. This was a pivotal life event. That helpful person set me on a different course in life, and I’m forever grateful.
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