During the closing decade of the 80s, I was beginning a budget travel adventure to the European continent with a companion. Since my companion was interested in enrolling in graduate studies in NYC, we had arranged a 14-day stopover there before heading to London.
We got to the graduate housing, a big ten-floor structure on the UWS called International House. Once we unpacked, we headed straight to the cafeteria, where we picked up meals, took a seat, and started talking to fellow residents.
Adjacent to my seat was an gentleman from Iraq studying engineering at Columbia University. He wanted to know what I my profession was, and I shared that I had just graduated with a degree in science and had been working on studies with electron microscopy.
He mentioned that there was an microscopy facility at the institution – adjacent to the engineering faculty, which was how he knew about it. He proposed that I should apply for a role with them. I dismissed the idea, telling him that I was soon departing to Europe and, even more importantly, I did not possess a US visa.
The next day I ventured out, coming back to the dining hall that night. The engineering student walked over to me and let me know that he had set up a meeting for me with the head of the electron microscope unit at Columbia. Since he had made the arrangement, I attended the interview – but immediately explained to my interviewer that I didn’t have a visa, so I was probably wasting her time.
As is common in NYC – a metropolis where opportunities abound – she responded: “We can make that happen. When can you start?” I never got on that flight to London.
I held that position for three years. One of the benefits was that I also received complimentary education at Columbia, and I seized the chance to earn a graduate degree in global studies.
I lost touch with him and I am unaware of his full name, but his remarkable generosity changed my life in so many ways. I would never have had the courage or self-assurance to approach someone at an Ivy League university and request employment. And, I had long dreamed to take classes in another country, but could never have afforded it without that free tuition.
Perhaps most importantly, that gig at Columbia resulted in a job in Zurich where I encountered my handsome spouse from France, with whom I am raising four amazing children. This was a pivotal life event. That helpful person set me on a different course in life, and I’m eternally thankful.
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