During the final years of the 1980s, I was beginning a backpacking trip to the European continent with a friend. Because my friend was interested in starting a postgraduate program in the Big Apple, we had planned a 14-day stopover there en route to London.
We arrived at the graduate housing, a large multi-story edifice on the Manhattan's Upper West Side called International House. After dropping our bags, we headed straight to the dining hall, where we grabbed food, took a seat, and began chatting with fellow residents.
Beside me was an gentleman from Iraq studying engineering at a prestigious New York university. He asked me what I did, and I explained that I had just graduated with a scientific background and had been conducting research with electron microscopy.
He mentioned that there was an microscopy facility at the university – close to the engineering department, which was how he knew about 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, more critically, I did not possess a US visa.
A day later I ventured out, returning to the canteen that night. The Iraqi student came up 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 informed my interviewer that I didn’t have a visa, so I was probably wasting her time.
Reflecting the city's spirit – a place where opportunities abound – she responded: “That can be arranged. What's your start date?” I never got on that flight to London.
I held that position for a trio of years. One of the benefits was that I was granted free tuition at Columbia, and I seized the chance to complete a master’s of international affairs.
I lost touch with him and I don’t even know his identity, but his remarkable generosity changed my life in so many ways. I would never have had the bravery or nerve to reach out at an Ivy League university and ask for a job. Additionally, I had consistently hoped to study abroad, but could never have afforded it without that tuition waiver.
What's more, that gig at Columbia resulted in a position in Switzerland where I got to know my beautiful French husband, with whom I now have a family of four kids. It was a total sliding doors moment. That helpful person redirected my path in life, and I’m always appreciative.
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