During the final years of the 1980s, I was embarking on a backpacking trip to the European continent with a companion. Because my travel mate was exploring pursuing a master’s degree in NYC, we had booked a two-week stay there en route to London.
We got to the postgrad residence, a big ten-floor structure on the UWS called International House. After dropping our bags, we headed straight to the dining hall, where we grabbed food, sat down, and began chatting with people eating there.
Beside me was an individual of Iraqi origin pursuing an engineering degree at an Ivy League institution. He wanted to know what I did, and I shared that I had newly finished with a science degree and had been working on studies using an electron microscope.
He noted that there was an microscopy facility at Columbia University – right next door to the engineering department, which was why he was aware of it. He proposed that I consider applying for a position with them. I dismissed the idea, telling him that I was heading off to Europe and, more critically, I did not possess a US visa.
A day later I toured the city, coming back to the dining hall that evening. The Iraqi student came up to me and told me 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 went to the meeting – but straight off informed my host that I lacked the necessary visa, so I was unable to accept the role.
In typical New York fashion – a city where everything seems achievable – she declared: “We can make that happen. When can you start?” I missed my plane to London.
I worked there for a trio of years. An advantage of the role was that I also received no-cost classes at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to earn a master’s of international affairs.
I lost touch with him and I am unaware of his identity, but his remarkable generosity altered my destiny in so many ways. I lacked the bravery or self-belief to approach someone at an prestigious college and seek a position. Additionally, I had long dreamed to take classes in another country, but lacked the financial means without that tuition waiver.
Perhaps most importantly, that gig at Columbia led me to a job in Zurich where I encountered my handsome spouse from France, with whom I now have a family of four kids. This was a pivotal life event. That kind stranger set me on a different course in life, and I’m forever grateful.
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