In the late 1980s, I was embarking on a low-cost journey to the European continent with a companion. Because my friend was exploring pursuing a master’s degree in the Big Apple, we had arranged a two-week stay there on the way to London.
We arrived at the student accommodation, a large ten-floor structure on the Manhattan's Upper West Side named International House. Once we unpacked, we went directly to the dining hall, where we picked up meals, took a seat, and started talking to people eating there.
Adjacent to my seat was an gentleman from Iraq studying engineering at Columbia University. He wanted to know what I did, and I explained that I had just graduated with a scientific background and had been conducting research with electron microscopy.
He noted that there was an microscopy facility at Columbia University – right next door to the engineering department, which was why he was aware of it. He proposed that I should apply for a position with them. I chuckled at the suggestion, explaining that I was soon departing to Europe and, even more importantly, I lacked a US visa.
A day later I toured the city, returning to the canteen that evening. The Iraqi student approached me and told me that he had arranged an interview for me with the leader of the research team at Columbia. Because he had made the arrangement, I went to the meeting – but straight off informed my prospective employer that I was without a work permit, so I was probably wasting her time.
In typical New York fashion – a city where opportunities abound – she responded: “That can be arranged. How soon can you begin?” I missed my plane to London.
I worked there for a trio of years. An advantage of the role was that I got free tuition at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to complete a graduate degree in global studies.
I never saw that student again and I don’t even know his name, but his selfless gesture transformed my future in so many ways. I didn't possess the courage or self-assurance to reach out at an Ivy League university and request employment. And, I had always wanted to study abroad, but could never have afforded it without that tuition waiver.
What's more, that role at the university paved the way for a job in Zurich where I got to know my handsome spouse from France, with whom I currently share a family of four kids. This was a pivotal life event. That helpful person redirected my path in life, and I’m eternally thankful.
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