In the closing decade of the 80s, I set out on a backpacking trip to the European continent with a travel partner. Since my friend was considering enrolling in graduate studies in the Big Apple, we had arranged a two-week stay there before heading to London.
We got to the graduate housing, a big ten-floor structure on the Upper West Side called International House. Once we unpacked, we headed straight to the cafeteria, where we got some food, found a table, and started talking to other diners.
Sitting next to me was an gentleman from Iraq enrolled in an engineering program at Columbia University. He asked me what I did, and I shared that I had recently completed my studies with a degree in science and had been working on studies using an electron microscope.
He mentioned that there was an microscopy facility at Columbia University – close to the school of engineering, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He proposed that I should apply for a position with them. I dismissed the idea, explaining that I was soon departing to Europe and, more critically, I didn’t have a US visa.
The following day I ventured out, coming back to the dining hall that evening. The Iraqi student approached me and told me that he had organized a discussion for me with the director of the microscopy lab at Columbia. Since he had gone to the trouble, I went to the meeting – but right away told my prospective employer that I was without a work permit, so I was unable to accept the role.
As is common in NYC – a metropolis where everything seems achievable – she said: “That can be arranged. When can you start?” I didn't board the aircraft to London.
I was employed there for a trio of years. A perk of the job was that I got complimentary education at Columbia, and I used the opportunity 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 altered my destiny in multiple respects. I lacked the courage or self-assurance to contact anyone at an Ivy League university and request employment. Additionally, I had always wanted to take classes in another country, but lacked the financial means without that educational benefit.
Perhaps most importantly, that role at the university resulted in a role in Europe where I got to know my handsome spouse from France, with whom I now have four amazing children. That encounter altered everything. That helpful person redirected my path in life, and I’m always appreciative.
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