During the closing decade of the 80s, I was beginning a low-cost journey to the European continent with a friend. Because my friend was considering enrolling in graduate studies in NYC, we had booked a fortnight visit there en route to London.
We arrived at the graduate housing, a sizeable multi-story edifice on the UWS called International House. After dropping our bags, we made our way to the cafeteria, where we grabbed food, took a seat, and started talking to people eating there.
Beside me was an gentleman from Iraq studying engineering at Columbia University. He asked me what I did, and I explained that I had just graduated with a degree in science and had been working on studies using an electron microscope.
He pointed out that there was an electron microscope unit at the institution – right next door to the engineering faculty, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He suggested that I should apply for a role with them. I laughed it off, saying that I was soon departing to Europe and, additionally, I lacked a US visa.
A day later I ventured out, going back to the cafeteria that evening. The man from Iraq walked over to me and informed me that he had arranged an interview for me with the head of the electron microscope unit at Columbia. Given that he had taken the effort, I showed up for the discussion – but right away informed my interviewer that I didn’t have a visa, so I was probably wasting her time.
In typical New York fashion – a metropolis where anything feels possible – she said: “We'll handle it. What's your start date?” I didn't board the aircraft to London.
I worked there for three years. One of the benefits was that I also received complimentary education at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to earn a postgrad program in international relations.
I lost touch with him and I can't recall his identity, but his selfless gesture changed my life in multiple respects. I would never have had the bravery or self-assurance to approach someone at an prestigious college and request employment. And, I had always wanted to study abroad, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that tuition waiver.
Perhaps most importantly, that role at the university paved the way for a role in Europe where I met my handsome spouse from France, with whom I currently share a family of four kids. That encounter altered everything. That kind stranger changed my trajectory in life, and I’m eternally thankful.
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