During the closing decade of the 80s, I was embarking on a low-cost journey to Europe with a companion. Because my travel mate was exploring enrolling in graduate studies in New York, we had arranged a fortnight visit there en route to London.
We got to the postgrad residence, a big multi-story edifice on the Manhattan's Upper West Side named International House. Setting down our luggage, we made our way to the dining hall, where we got some food, sat down, and engaged in conversation with other diners.
Beside me was an gentleman from Iraq enrolled in an engineering program at Columbia University. He inquired what I did for a living, and I explained that I had newly finished with a science degree and had been conducting research with electron microscopy.
He pointed out that there was an electron microscope unit at the institution – adjacent to the school of engineering, which was why he was aware of it. He recommended that I should apply for a job with them. I chuckled at the suggestion, saying that I was heading off to Europe and, additionally, I lacked a US visa.
A day later I ventured out, coming back to the dining hall that night. The man from Iraq approached me and told me that he had arranged an interview for me with the head of the electron microscope unit at Columbia. Since he had taken the effort, I went to the meeting – but straight off told my prospective employer that I lacked the necessary visa, so I was probably wasting her time.
In typical New York fashion – a place where everything seems achievable – she responded: “That can be arranged. When can you start?” I didn't board the aircraft to London.
I worked there for 36 months. One of the benefits was that I also received no-cost classes at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to earn a master’s of international affairs.
I lost touch with him and I don’t even know his full name, but his incredible act of kindness transformed my future in so many ways. I lacked the bravery or self-belief to reach out at an prestigious college and ask for a job. Additionally, I had long dreamed to study abroad, but could never have afforded it without that tuition waiver.
Critically, that gig at Columbia resulted in a role in Europe where I got to know my handsome spouse from France, with whom I currently share a family of four kids. That encounter altered everything. That benevolent individual redirected my path in life, and I’m always appreciative.
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