During the closing decade of the 80s, I was beginning a low-cost journey to Europe with a friend. Since my friend was considering pursuing a master’s degree in the Big Apple, we had arranged a fortnight visit there on the way to London.
We arrived at the student accommodation, a big multi-story edifice on the Upper West Side called International House. Once we unpacked, we headed straight to the dining hall, where we got some food, sat down, and engaged in conversation with people eating there.
Sitting next to me was an Iraqi man enrolled in an engineering program at Columbia University. He asked me what I my profession was, and I told him that I had newly finished with a science degree and had been working on studies with electron microscopy.
He noted that there was an microscopy facility at the institution – close to the engineering faculty, which was how he knew about it. He suggested that I should apply for a role with them. I dismissed the idea, telling him that I was about to fly to Europe and, additionally, I lacked a US visa.
A day later I went out exploring, returning to the canteen that after dark. The man from Iraq came up to me and let me know that he had organized a discussion for me with the director of the microscopy lab at Columbia. Since he had made the arrangement, I attended the interview – but right away told my host that I didn’t have a visa, so I was likely not a suitable candidate.
Reflecting the city's spirit – a city where anything feels possible – she responded: “We'll handle it. When can you start?” I didn't board the aircraft 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 seized the chance to earn a master’s of international affairs.
We didn't cross paths after that and I can't recall his name, but his remarkable generosity transformed my future in numerous aspects. I didn't possess the confidence or self-belief to approach someone at an elite institution and seek a position. Moreover, I had long dreamed to take classes in another country, but lacked the financial means without that tuition waiver.
Perhaps most importantly, that gig at Columbia resulted in a role in Europe where I got to know my beautiful French husband, with whom I currently share a family of four kids. That encounter altered everything. That kind stranger set me on a different course in life, and I’m always appreciative.
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