During the final years of the 1980s, I was beginning a budget travel adventure to the European continent with a companion. Since my companion was considering starting a postgraduate program in NYC, we had planned a 14-day stopover there en route to London.
We reached the postgrad residence, a big multi-story edifice on the Upper West Side named International House. After dropping our bags, we made our way to the dining hall, where we grabbed food, found a table, and engaged in conversation with other diners.
Beside me was an individual of Iraqi origin enrolled in an engineering program at Columbia University. He wanted to know what I did, and I explained that I had newly finished with a degree in science and had been conducting research with electron microscopy.
He mentioned that there was an research lab at the institution – close to the school of engineering, which was how he knew about it. He recommended that I consider applying for a job with them. I laughed it off, explaining that I was heading off to Europe and, more critically, I did not possess a US visa.
The next day I ventured out, coming back to the dining hall that evening. The Iraqi student came up to me and informed me that he had organized a discussion for me with the head of the electron microscope unit at Columbia. Because he had gone to the trouble, I went to the meeting – but immediately informed my interviewer that I lacked the necessary visa, so I was unable to accept the role.
Reflecting the city's spirit – a city where opportunities abound – she declared: “We'll handle it. 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 was granted free tuition at Columbia, and I seized the chance to complete a master’s of international affairs.
We didn't cross paths after that and I can't recall his identity, but his incredible act of kindness transformed my future in multiple respects. I didn't possess the confidence or self-assurance to reach out at an prestigious college and seek a position. Moreover, I had consistently hoped to take classes in another country, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that tuition waiver.
Perhaps most importantly, that role at the university resulted in a role in Europe where I got to know my handsome spouse from France, with whom I am raising a family of four kids. That encounter altered everything. That benevolent individual redirected my path in life, and I’m forever grateful.
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