During the final years of the 1980s, I set out on a budget travel adventure to Europe with a friend. Because my companion was exploring starting a postgraduate program in the Big Apple, we had booked a 14-day stopover there before heading to London.
We got to the student accommodation, a big 10-storey building on the Manhattan's Upper West Side named International House. Once we unpacked, we headed straight to the cafeteria, where we grabbed food, took a seat, and engaged in conversation with other diners.
Beside me was an gentleman from Iraq pursuing an engineering degree at Columbia University. He inquired what I did for a living, and I explained that I had just graduated with a scientific background and had been performing experiments with electron microscopy.
He noted that there was an research lab at the university – right next door to the engineering department, which was how he knew about it. He suggested that I ought to seek a role with them. I dismissed the idea, saying that I was heading off to Europe and, more critically, I lacked a US visa.
The next day I ventured out, coming back to the dining hall that night. The Iraqi student walked over to me and let me know that he had organized a discussion for me with the director of the microscopy lab at Columbia. Given that he had taken the effort, I showed up for the discussion – but immediately explained to my host that I lacked the necessary visa, so I was probably wasting her time.
As is common in NYC – a metropolis where anything feels possible – she said: “That can be arranged. How soon can you begin?” I didn't board the aircraft to London.
I worked there for 36 months. An advantage of the role was that I also received no-cost classes 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 identity, but his remarkable generosity transformed my future in so many ways. I lacked the confidence or self-assurance to contact anyone at an prestigious college and ask for a job. Moreover, I had always wanted to take classes in another country, but lacked the financial means without that educational benefit.
Perhaps most importantly, that gig at Columbia led me to a job in Zurich where I got to know my beautiful French husband, with whom I now have a family of four kids. This was a pivotal life event. That helpful person set me on a different course in life, and I’m always appreciative.
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