In the closing decade of the 80s, I was embarking on a low-cost journey to the European continent with a travel partner. Since my companion was exploring starting a postgraduate program in the Big Apple, we had planned a 14-day stopover there before heading to London.
We got to the postgrad residence, a sizeable multi-story edifice on the Upper West Side called International House. Setting down our luggage, we went directly to the cafeteria, where we got some food, took a seat, and started talking to fellow residents.
Beside me was an gentleman from Iraq studying engineering at a prestigious New York university. He wanted to know what I did, and I shared that I had newly finished with a degree in science and had been performing experiments with electron microscopy.
He noted that there was an research lab at Columbia University – close 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 laughed it off, saying that I was soon departing to Europe and, additionally, I lacked 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 organized a discussion for me with the director of the microscopy lab at Columbia. Because he had taken the effort, I went to the meeting – but immediately told my host that I was without a work permit, so I was likely not a suitable candidate.
Reflecting the city's spirit – a city where anything feels possible – she declared: “We can make that happen. When can you start?” I missed my plane to London.
I held that position for 36 months. A perk of the job was that I also received free tuition at Columbia, and I seized the chance to earn a graduate degree in global studies.
We didn't cross paths after that and I am unaware of his identity, but his remarkable generosity altered my destiny in so many ways. I would never have had the courage or nerve to contact anyone at an elite institution and ask for a job. Additionally, I had long dreamed to pursue education overseas, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that free tuition.
Perhaps most importantly, that role at the university resulted in a role in Europe where I met my beautiful French husband, with whom I currently share four amazing children. That encounter altered everything. That benevolent individual redirected my path in life, and I’m always appreciative.
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