In the final years of the 1980s, I was embarking on a backpacking trip to the European continent with a travel partner. Since my friend was interested in pursuing a master’s degree in New York, we had planned a two-week stay there before heading to London.
We reached the student accommodation, a big ten-floor structure on the UWS called International House. Setting down our luggage, we headed straight to the cafeteria, where we grabbed food, sat down, and started talking to people eating there.
Sitting next to me was an Iraqi man enrolled in an engineering program at an Ivy League institution. He asked me what I did, and I told him that I had just graduated with a scientific background and had been performing experiments using an electron microscope.
He mentioned that there was an microscopy facility at Columbia University – right next door to the engineering faculty, which was how he knew about it. He suggested that I should apply for a job with them. I dismissed the idea, telling him that I was about to fly to Europe and, even more importantly, I didn’t have a US visa.
The following day I ventured out, returning to the canteen that evening. The man from Iraq approached me and let me know that he had set up a meeting for me with the leader of the research team at Columbia. Because he had taken the effort, I showed up for the discussion – but immediately informed my prospective employer that I didn’t have a visa, so I was probably wasting her time.
In typical New York fashion – a place where anything feels possible – she said: “We can make that happen. When can you start?” I missed my plane to London.
I held that position for three years. An advantage of the role was that I was granted complimentary education at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to finish a postgrad program in international relations.
I lost touch with him and I can't recall his name, but his remarkable generosity altered my destiny in so many ways. I didn't possess the confidence or nerve to contact anyone at an Ivy League university and request employment. Moreover, I had long dreamed to take classes in another country, but lacked the financial means without that tuition waiver.
Critically, that gig at Columbia resulted in a job in Zurich where I encountered my wonderful partner, with whom I am raising four wonderful sons and daughters. This was a pivotal life event. That benevolent individual changed my trajectory in life, and I’m eternally thankful.
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