In the closing decade of the 80s, I was embarking on a backpacking trip to Europe with a travel partner. Because my friend was exploring pursuing a master’s degree in the Big Apple, we had arranged a fortnight visit there on the way to London.
We arrived at the student accommodation, a sizeable 10-storey building on the Manhattan's Upper West Side known as International House. Once we unpacked, we went directly to the cafeteria, where we grabbed food, sat down, and began chatting with fellow residents.
Adjacent to my seat was an gentleman from Iraq pursuing an engineering degree at an Ivy League institution. He wanted to know what I did for a living, and I shared that I had recently completed my studies with a science degree and had been conducting research using an electron microscope.
He noted that there was an research lab at Columbia University – adjacent to the engineering faculty, which was how he knew about it. He proposed that I ought to seek a position with them. I laughed it off, saying that I was about to fly to Europe and, more critically, I lacked 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 organized a discussion for me with the head of the electron microscope unit at Columbia. Given that he had made the arrangement, I attended the interview – but straight off informed my prospective employer that I didn’t have a visa, so I was probably wasting her time.
Reflecting the city's spirit – a place where everything seems achievable – she responded: “That can be arranged. How soon can you begin?” I never got on that flight to London.
I worked there for 36 months. One of the benefits was that I was granted free tuition at Columbia, and I took advantage to finish a graduate degree in global studies.
I lost touch with him and I can't recall his full name, but his remarkable generosity transformed my future in so many ways. I would never have had the confidence or self-belief to approach someone at an Ivy League university and ask for a job. Additionally, I had consistently hoped to pursue education overseas, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that tuition waiver.
Perhaps most importantly, that role at the university resulted in a role in Europe where I met my handsome spouse from France, with whom I am raising four wonderful sons and daughters. That encounter altered everything. That kind stranger changed my trajectory in life, and I’m always appreciative.
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