During the final years of the 1980s, I set out on a low-cost journey to Europe with a travel partner. Because my travel mate was considering starting a postgraduate program in New York, we had arranged a two-week stay there en route to London.
We reached the postgrad residence, a sizeable 10-storey building on the UWS known as International House. Setting down our luggage, we went directly to the dining hall, where we got some food, found a table, and engaged in conversation with other diners.
Sitting next to me was an Iraqi man studying engineering at a prestigious New York university. He wanted to know what I did for a living, and I shared that I had just graduated with a degree in science and had been conducting research using an electron microscope.
He noted that there was an electron microscope unit at the institution – adjacent to the engineering department, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He suggested that I consider applying for a job with them. I dismissed the idea, saying that I was soon departing to Europe and, even more importantly, I did not possess a US visa.
The next day I toured the city, returning to the canteen that night. The man from Iraq came up to me and let me know that he had organized a discussion for me with the head of the electron microscope unit at Columbia. Because he had made the arrangement, I showed up for the discussion – but straight off informed my host that I didn’t have a visa, so I was unable to accept the role.
In typical New York fashion – a city where anything feels possible – she responded: “We'll handle it. When can you start?” I never got on that flight to London.
I worked there for three years. One of the benefits was that I also received no-cost classes at Columbia, and I seized the chance to earn a master’s of international affairs.
I lost touch with him and I don’t even know his name, but his incredible act of kindness altered my destiny in multiple respects. I lacked the courage or self-assurance to approach someone at an prestigious college and seek a position. Moreover, I had always wanted to take classes in another country, but could never have afforded it without that tuition waiver.
What's more, that role at the university resulted in a position in Switzerland where I got to know my beautiful French husband, 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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