During the final years of the 1980s, I was embarking on a backpacking trip to the European continent with a companion. Because my companion was interested in starting a postgraduate program in NYC, we had arranged a 14-day stopover there on the way to London.
We got to the graduate housing, a large ten-floor structure on the Manhattan's Upper West Side known as International House. Setting down our luggage, we headed straight to the cafeteria, where we grabbed food, sat down, and engaged in conversation with other diners.
Adjacent to my seat was an gentleman from Iraq enrolled in an engineering program at a prestigious New York university. He asked me what I my profession was, and I told him that I had newly finished with a science degree and had been working on studies involving microscopic analysis.
He noted that there was an research lab at the university – close to the engineering faculty, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He proposed that I ought to seek a position with them. I chuckled at the suggestion, explaining that I was heading off to Europe and, more critically, I did not possess a US visa.
A day later I went out exploring, returning to the canteen that evening. The engineering student came up to me and informed me that he had arranged an interview for me with the head of the electron microscope unit at Columbia. Given that he had made the arrangement, I showed up for the discussion – but immediately informed my host that I lacked the necessary visa, so I was likely not a suitable candidate.
In typical New York fashion – a metropolis where anything feels possible – she declared: “That can be arranged. What's your start date?” I missed my plane to London.
I was employed there for 36 months. One of the benefits was that I got complimentary education at Columbia, and I took advantage to finish a graduate degree in global studies.
We didn't cross paths after that and I don’t even know his full name, but his remarkable generosity changed my life in numerous aspects. I didn't possess the courage or nerve to approach someone at an prestigious college and request employment. Additionally, I had consistently hoped to study abroad, but lacked the financial means without that free tuition.
What's more, that job in New York led me to a role in Europe where I got to know my beautiful French husband, with whom I now have four wonderful sons and daughters. That encounter altered everything. That helpful person redirected my path in life, and I’m eternally thankful.
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