During the closing decade of the 80s, I was embarking on a budget travel adventure to Europe with a companion. Because my companion was exploring enrolling in graduate studies in the Big Apple, we had planned a 14-day stopover there en route to London.
We arrived at the graduate housing, a sizeable multi-story edifice on the Upper West Side known as International House. Setting down our luggage, we went directly to the dining hall, where we grabbed food, sat down, and began chatting with people eating there.
Beside me was an gentleman from Iraq enrolled in an engineering program at an Ivy League institution. He inquired what I did, and I explained that I had newly finished with a scientific background and had been working on studies using an electron microscope.
He mentioned that there was an microscopy facility at the institution – right next door to the engineering faculty, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He recommended that I consider applying for a position with them. I dismissed the idea, telling him that I was heading off to Europe and, even more importantly, I didn’t have a US visa.
A day later I went out exploring, coming back to the dining hall that after dark. The man from Iraq approached me and let me know that he had organized a discussion for me with the head of the electron microscope unit at Columbia. Because he had made the arrangement, I went to the meeting – but immediately told my host that I was without a work permit, so I was unable to accept the role.
As is common in NYC – a city where opportunities abound – she responded: “We'll handle it. What's your start date?” I missed my plane to London.
I was employed there for a trio of years. One of the benefits was that I got complimentary education at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to earn a graduate degree in global studies.
I lost touch with him and I can't recall his full name, but his remarkable generosity changed my life in so many ways. I didn't possess the confidence or self-assurance to approach someone at an Ivy League university and seek a position. Additionally, I had always wanted to study abroad, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that tuition waiver.
What's more, that job in New York led me to a position in Switzerland where I met my handsome spouse from France, with whom I now have four amazing children. That encounter altered everything. That kind stranger redirected my path in life, and I’m forever grateful.
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