During the closing decade of the 80s, I was beginning a budget travel adventure to the European continent with a companion. Because my companion was exploring starting a postgraduate program in NYC, we had arranged a fortnight visit there en route to London.
We got to the student accommodation, a sizeable 10-storey building on the Manhattan's Upper West Side named International House. Once we unpacked, we made our way to the canteen, where we picked up meals, sat down, and started talking to fellow residents.
Adjacent to my seat was an Iraqi man enrolled in an engineering program at Columbia University. He asked me what I did for a living, and I told him that I had recently completed my studies with a scientific background and had been working on studies using an electron microscope.
He pointed out that there was an research lab at Columbia University – right next door to the school of engineering, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He proposed that I ought to seek a job with them. I dismissed the idea, explaining that I was about to fly to Europe and, even more importantly, I did not possess a US visa.
A day later I ventured out, going back to the cafeteria that evening. The man from Iraq came up to me and informed me that he had organized a discussion for me with the leader of the research team at Columbia. Given that he had gone to the trouble, I attended the interview – but straight off told my prospective employer that I was without a work permit, so I was unable to accept the role.
As is common in NYC – a metropolis where anything feels possible – she responded: “We'll handle it. When can you start?” I didn't board the aircraft to London.
I worked there for a trio of years. A perk of the job was that I got complimentary education at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to complete a master’s of international affairs.
I lost touch with him and I am unaware of his identity, but his remarkable generosity changed my life in so many ways. I didn't possess the bravery or nerve to contact anyone at an elite institution and seek a position. Moreover, I had consistently hoped to pursue education overseas, but could never have afforded it without that tuition waiver.
Perhaps most importantly, that role at the university resulted in a role in Europe where I encountered my beautiful French husband, with whom I am raising four wonderful sons and daughters. That encounter altered everything. That benevolent individual redirected my path in life, and I’m always appreciative.
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