During the final years of the 1980s, I was embarking on a low-cost journey to Europe with a travel partner. Because my friend was considering starting a postgraduate program in the Big Apple, we had arranged a 14-day stopover there en route to London.
We got to the graduate housing, a sizeable ten-floor structure on the UWS named International House. Setting down our luggage, we made our way to the cafeteria, where we picked up meals, found a table, and engaged in conversation with other diners.
Sitting next to me was an gentleman from Iraq pursuing an engineering degree at a prestigious New York university. He wanted to know what I my profession was, and I told him that I had just graduated with a science degree and had been working on studies using an electron microscope.
He mentioned that there was an microscopy facility at the university – close to the school of engineering, which was how he knew about it. He recommended that I ought to seek a position with them. I chuckled at the suggestion, explaining that I was soon departing to Europe and, even more importantly, I did not possess a US visa.
The next day I ventured out, returning to the canteen that after dark. The man from Iraq came up to me and let me know that he had arranged an interview for me with the director of the microscopy lab at Columbia. Since he had taken the effort, I showed up for the discussion – but right away told my interviewer 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 said: “We can make that happen. How soon can you begin?” I missed my plane to London.
I was employed there for a trio of years. A perk of the job was that I was granted complimentary education at Columbia, and I seized the chance to earn a master’s of international affairs.
I lost touch with him and I can't recall his identity, but his selfless gesture changed my life in so many ways. I would never have had the confidence or self-belief to contact anyone at an prestigious college and request employment. Moreover, I had long dreamed to pursue education overseas, but lacked the financial means without that free tuition.
Perhaps most importantly, that gig at Columbia resulted in a role in Europe where I got to know my beautiful French husband, with whom I currently share a family of four kids. It was a total sliding doors moment. That benevolent individual changed my trajectory in life, and I’m forever grateful.
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