During the late 1980s, I was embarking on a low-cost journey to Europe with a travel partner. Since my friend was exploring starting a postgraduate program in the Big Apple, we had arranged a two-week stay there before heading to London.
We reached the graduate housing, a large ten-floor structure on the Manhattan's Upper West Side known as International House. After dropping our bags, we went directly to the dining hall, where we picked up meals, found a table, and engaged in conversation with fellow residents.
Adjacent to my seat was an individual of Iraqi origin enrolled in an engineering program at an Ivy League institution. He inquired what I did for a living, and I explained that I had newly finished with a degree in science and had been performing experiments with electron microscopy.
He noted that there was an microscopy facility at the institution – right next door to the school of engineering, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He recommended that I should apply for a position with them. I chuckled at the suggestion, telling him that I was heading off to Europe and, even more importantly, I lacked a US visa.
The next day I went out exploring, coming back to the dining hall that after dark. The man from Iraq came up to me and let me know that he had set up a meeting for me with the director of the microscopy lab at Columbia. Given that he had gone to the trouble, I went to the meeting – but right away informed my host that I lacked the necessary visa, so I was probably wasting her time.
In typical New York fashion – a place where anything feels possible – she responded: “We'll handle it. What's your start date?” I didn't board the aircraft to London.
I held that position for a trio of years. An advantage of the role was that I also received no-cost classes at Columbia, and I took advantage to complete 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 would never have had the confidence or self-belief to contact anyone at an Ivy League university and request employment. And, I had long dreamed to take classes in another country, but lacked the financial means without that tuition waiver.
Critically, that job in New York resulted in a position in Switzerland where I met my handsome spouse from France, with whom I currently share four amazing children. This was a pivotal life event. That benevolent individual redirected my path in life, and I’m eternally thankful.
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