During the closing decade of the 80s, I was beginning a low-cost journey to the European continent with a travel partner. Because my friend was interested in starting a postgraduate program in NYC, we had arranged a two-week stay there en route to London.
We got to the student accommodation, a big multi-story edifice on the Upper West Side known as International House. After dropping our bags, we went directly to the dining hall, where we grabbed food, took a seat, and engaged in conversation with other diners.
Beside me was an gentleman from Iraq enrolled in an engineering program at a prestigious New York university. He asked me what I did for a living, and I shared that I had recently completed my studies with a degree in science and had been conducting research involving microscopic analysis.
He pointed out that there was an research lab at the institution – adjacent to the engineering department, which was why he was aware of it. He suggested that I ought to seek a job with them. I chuckled at the suggestion, explaining that I was about to fly to Europe and, additionally, I lacked a US visa.
A day later I toured the city, coming back to the dining hall that night. The Iraqi student approached me and informed me that he had set up a meeting for me with the head of the electron microscope unit at Columbia. Given that he had gone to the trouble, I attended the interview – but straight off explained to my host that I didn’t have a visa, so I was unable to accept the role.
As is common in NYC – a place where everything seems achievable – she declared: “We can make that happen. What's your start date?” I never got on that flight to London.
I held that position for three years. An advantage of the role was that I also received no-cost classes at Columbia, and I took advantage to earn a graduate degree in global studies.
I never saw that student again and I can't recall his full name, but his selfless gesture altered my destiny in numerous aspects. I lacked the courage or self-assurance to approach someone at an Ivy League university and request employment. Additionally, I had long dreamed to take classes in another country, but lacked the financial means without that tuition waiver.
Perhaps most importantly, that role at the university led me to a position in Switzerland where I met my beautiful French husband, with whom I now have four wonderful sons and daughters. That encounter altered everything. That helpful person changed my trajectory in life, and I’m forever grateful.
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