In the final years of the 1980s, I was beginning a low-cost journey to the European continent with a friend. Because my travel mate was exploring pursuing a master’s degree in the Big Apple, we had planned a fortnight visit there en route to London.
We arrived at the student accommodation, a big multi-story edifice on the Manhattan's Upper West Side known as International House. Once we unpacked, we headed straight to the cafeteria, where we grabbed food, found a table, and started talking to fellow residents.
Beside me was an Iraqi man enrolled in an engineering program at a prestigious New York university. He inquired what I my profession was, and I shared that I had newly finished with a degree in science and had been performing experiments involving microscopic analysis.
He noted that there was an microscopy facility at the university – close to the school of engineering, which was why he was aware of it. He suggested that I ought to seek a role with them. I laughed it off, telling him that I was soon departing to Europe and, additionally, I lacked a US visa.
The following day I ventured out, returning to the canteen that after dark. The Iraqi student came up to me and informed me that he had set up a meeting for me with the director of the microscopy lab at Columbia. Since he had taken the effort, I showed up for the discussion – but immediately informed my interviewer that I lacked the necessary visa, so I was probably wasting her time.
In typical New York fashion – a place where anything feels possible – she declared: “We'll handle it. When can you start?” I never got on that flight to London.
I held that position for a trio of years. An advantage of the role was that I was granted complimentary education at Columbia, and I seized the chance to complete a graduate degree in global studies.
I lost touch with him and I can't recall his identity, but his remarkable generosity transformed my future in so many ways. I didn't possess the confidence or self-belief to reach out at an prestigious college and ask for a job. Moreover, I had consistently hoped to study abroad, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that educational benefit.
What's more, that role at the university paved the way for a position in Switzerland where I got to know my beautiful French husband, with whom I am raising a family of four kids. This was a pivotal life event. That benevolent individual set me on a different course in life, and I’m always appreciative.
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