During the closing decade of the 80s, I set out on a low-cost journey to Europe with a companion. Because my friend was interested in enrolling in graduate studies in New York, we had booked a two-week stay there on the way to London.
We reached the postgrad residence, a large multi-story edifice on the Manhattan's Upper West Side known as International House. Setting down our luggage, we headed straight to the canteen, where we grabbed food, took a seat, and started talking to people eating there.
Sitting next to me was an Iraqi man pursuing an engineering degree at a prestigious New York university. He asked me what I did, and I explained that I had recently completed my studies with a degree in science and had been working on studies involving microscopic analysis.
He mentioned that there was an research lab at the institution – close to the engineering department, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He proposed that I ought to seek a role with them. I dismissed the idea, telling him that I was soon departing to Europe and, even more importantly, I didn’t have a US visa.
The next day I went out exploring, coming back to the dining hall that night. The engineering student came up to me and let me know that he had arranged an interview for me with the director of the microscopy lab at Columbia. Because he had made the arrangement, I showed up for the discussion – but right away told my interviewer that I lacked the necessary visa, so I was unable to accept the role.
As is common in NYC – a metropolis where opportunities abound – she responded: “We'll handle it. How soon can you begin?” I never got on that flight to London.
I worked there for a trio of years. A perk of the job was that I got complimentary education at Columbia, and I seized the chance to earn a master’s of international affairs.
I never saw that student again and I don’t even know his identity, but his selfless gesture changed my life in so many ways. I lacked the bravery or self-assurance to reach out at an prestigious college and request employment. Additionally, I had always wanted to pursue education overseas, but could never have afforded it without that tuition waiver.
What's more, that role at the university paved the way for a position in Switzerland where I encountered my beautiful French husband, with whom I currently share a family of four kids. That encounter altered everything. That benevolent individual set me on a different course in life, and I’m always appreciative.
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