During the closing decade of the 80s, I set out on a low-cost journey to the European continent with a companion. Because my friend was exploring starting a postgraduate program in New York, we had arranged a fortnight visit there en route to London.
We got to the graduate housing, a sizeable 10-storey building on the UWS called International House. Once we unpacked, we made our way to the dining hall, where we grabbed food, found a table, and engaged in conversation with other diners.
Sitting next to me was an individual of Iraqi origin enrolled in an engineering program at Columbia University. He inquired what I did, and I explained that I had newly finished with a science degree and had been working on studies involving microscopic analysis.
He noted that there was an electron microscope unit at the university – adjacent 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, telling him that I was soon departing to Europe and, more critically, I didn’t have a US visa.
A day later I went out exploring, coming back to the dining hall that after dark. The man from Iraq approached me and told me that he had set up a meeting for me with the director of the microscopy lab at Columbia. Because he had taken the effort, I showed up for the discussion – but straight off informed my prospective employer that I was without a work permit, so I was unable to accept the role.
In typical New York fashion – a city where everything seems achievable – she said: “We can make that happen. When can you start?” I didn't board the aircraft to London.
I worked there for a trio of years. One of the benefits was that I got free tuition at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to finish a graduate degree in global studies.
We didn't cross paths after that and I can't recall his identity, but his selfless gesture altered my destiny in numerous aspects. I lacked the courage or self-assurance to contact anyone at an prestigious college and ask for a job. And, I had long dreamed to take classes in another country, but could never have afforded it without that tuition waiver.
Perhaps most importantly, that gig at Columbia resulted in a role in Europe where I encountered my handsome spouse from France, with whom I am raising four amazing children. This was a pivotal life event. That helpful person set me on a different course in life, and I’m always appreciative.
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