During the closing decade of the 80s, I was beginning a low-cost journey to the European continent with a travel partner. Because my friend was exploring enrolling in graduate studies in the Big Apple, we had planned a fortnight visit there on the way to London.
We reached the graduate housing, a large ten-floor structure on the Upper West Side known as International House. Once we unpacked, we headed straight to the dining hall, where we grabbed food, took a seat, and started talking to other diners.
Adjacent to my seat was an individual of Iraqi origin studying engineering at an Ivy League institution. He asked me what I my profession was, and I shared that I had just graduated with a science degree and had been working on studies involving microscopic analysis.
He noted that there was an microscopy facility at the university – right next door to the school of engineering, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He recommended that I ought to seek a job with them. I dismissed the idea, saying that I was soon departing to Europe and, additionally, I lacked a US visa.
A day later I went out exploring, returning to the canteen that after dark. The Iraqi student came up to me and informed me that he had arranged an interview for me with the director of the microscopy lab at Columbia. Given that he had made the arrangement, I showed up for the discussion – but straight off told my prospective employer that I lacked the necessary visa, so I was unable to accept the role.
Reflecting the city's spirit – a metropolis where anything feels possible – she responded: “We can make that happen. When can you start?” I missed my plane to London.
I held that position for three years. A perk of the job was that I got complimentary education at Columbia, and I seized the chance to complete a master’s of international affairs.
I lost touch with him and I don’t even know his full name, but his remarkable generosity altered my destiny in so many ways. I would never have had the confidence or nerve to reach out at an prestigious college and seek a position. Moreover, I had always wanted to pursue education overseas, but could never have afforded it without that educational benefit.
Critically, that job in New York resulted in a job in Zurich where I encountered my beautiful French husband, with whom I currently share four amazing children. That encounter altered everything. That benevolent individual set me on a different course in life, and I’m forever grateful.
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