In the final years of the 1980s, I was embarking on a low-cost journey to the European continent with a friend. Because my friend was considering starting a postgraduate program in the Big Apple, we had planned a fortnight visit there before heading to London.
We got to the postgrad residence, a sizeable multi-story edifice on the Manhattan's Upper West Side named International House. After dropping our bags, we headed straight to the dining hall, where we grabbed food, sat down, and started talking to people eating there.
Beside me was an Iraqi man enrolled in an engineering program at an Ivy League institution. He inquired what I did, and I told him that I had newly finished with a science degree and had been performing experiments involving microscopic analysis.
He pointed out that there was an electron microscope unit at the institution – right next door to the school of engineering, which was why he was aware of it. He recommended that I ought to seek a role with them. I laughed it off, saying that I was soon departing to Europe and, more critically, I did not possess a US visa.
The following day I toured the city, coming back to the dining hall that after dark. The man from Iraq approached me and told me that he had organized a discussion for me with the leader of the research team at Columbia. Given that he had taken the effort, I attended the interview – but straight off explained to my prospective employer that I was without a work permit, so I was likely not a suitable candidate.
As is common in NYC – a place where opportunities abound – she said: “We can make that happen. When can you start?” I never got on that flight to London.
I held that position for 36 months. A perk of the job was that I got complimentary education at Columbia, and I took advantage to earn a postgrad program in international relations.
I never saw that student again and I am unaware of his name, but his remarkable generosity altered my destiny in numerous aspects. I lacked the courage or self-belief to contact anyone at an prestigious college and seek a position. And, I had long dreamed to pursue education overseas, but could never have afforded it without that free tuition.
Perhaps most importantly, that gig at Columbia resulted in a role in Europe where I got to know my handsome spouse from France, with whom I now have a family of four kids. This was a pivotal life event. That benevolent individual redirected my path in life, and I’m forever grateful.
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