During the final years of the 1980s, I set out on a backpacking trip to the European continent with a companion. Since my friend was interested in enrolling in graduate studies in the Big Apple, we had planned a 14-day stopover there on the way to London.
We arrived at the graduate housing, a big multi-story edifice on the Manhattan's Upper West Side known as International House. Once we unpacked, we headed straight to the cafeteria, where we grabbed food, sat down, and started talking to fellow residents.
Adjacent to my seat was an gentleman from Iraq enrolled in an engineering program at a prestigious New York university. He wanted to know what I did, and I told him that I had newly finished with a science degree and had been performing experiments using an electron microscope.
He noted that there was an research lab at Columbia University – adjacent to the school of engineering, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He recommended that I should apply for a job with them. I dismissed the idea, telling him that I was soon departing to Europe and, even more importantly, I did not possess a US visa.
A day later I went out exploring, going back to the cafeteria that night. The Iraqi student 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 showed up for the discussion – but immediately explained to my interviewer that I didn’t have a visa, so I was probably wasting her time.
Reflecting the city's spirit – a city where opportunities abound – she declared: “We can make that happen. When can you start?” I never got on that flight to London.
I was employed there for three years. An advantage of the role was that I was granted no-cost classes at Columbia, and I seized the chance to finish a master’s of international affairs.
We didn't cross paths after that and I can't recall his full name, but his selfless gesture changed my life in so many ways. I lacked the bravery or self-assurance to approach someone at an elite institution and seek a position. And, I had long dreamed to take classes in another country, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that free tuition.
Critically, that role at the university paved the way for a role in Europe where I got to know my handsome spouse from France, with whom I now have a family of four kids. It was a total sliding doors moment. That helpful person set me on a different course in life, and I’m forever grateful.
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