In the closing decade of the 80s, I was beginning a low-cost journey to the European continent with a companion. Because my friend was considering pursuing a master’s degree in the Big Apple, we had planned a two-week stay there on the way to London.
We reached the graduate housing, a large multi-story edifice on the UWS known as International House. After dropping our bags, we headed straight to the canteen, where we got some food, found a table, and began chatting with other diners.
Adjacent to my seat was an Iraqi man enrolled in an engineering program at Columbia University. He wanted to know what I my profession was, and I told him that I had just graduated with a scientific background and had been working on studies involving microscopic analysis.
He pointed out that there was an electron microscope unit at the university – adjacent to the engineering faculty, which was why he was aware of it. He suggested that I ought to seek a job with them. I laughed it off, telling him that I was heading off to Europe and, more critically, I lacked a US visa.
The next day I went out exploring, going back to the cafeteria that night. The engineering student came up to me and let me know that he had organized a discussion for me with the director of the microscopy lab at Columbia. Because he had gone to the trouble, I attended the interview – but right away told my host that I lacked the necessary visa, so I was probably wasting her time.
Reflecting the city's spirit – a place where anything feels possible – she declared: “We can make that happen. When can you start?” I never got on that flight to London.
I worked there for 36 months. A perk of the job was that I also received no-cost classes 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 identity, but his remarkable generosity changed my life in so many ways. I lacked the confidence or self-belief to reach out at an elite institution and ask for a job. Moreover, I had always wanted to pursue education overseas, but lacked the financial means without that tuition waiver.
Perhaps most importantly, that gig at Columbia led me to a role in Europe where I met my handsome spouse from France, with whom I currently share four amazing children. It was a total sliding doors moment. That kind stranger set me on a different course in life, and I’m eternally thankful.
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