During the late 1980s, I was embarking on a backpacking trip to Europe with a companion. Since my travel mate was interested in enrolling in graduate studies in the Big Apple, we had planned a two-week stay there before heading to London.
We reached the student accommodation, a large multi-story edifice on the UWS known as International House. Setting down our luggage, we made our way to the dining hall, where we grabbed food, found a table, and started talking to other diners.
Sitting next to me was an gentleman from Iraq studying engineering at an Ivy League institution. He asked me what I did, and I shared that I had just graduated with a degree in science and had been working on studies using an electron microscope.
He pointed out that there was an electron microscope unit at Columbia University – right next door to the engineering faculty, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He suggested that I should apply for a position with them. I chuckled at the suggestion, saying that I was about to fly to Europe and, additionally, I didn’t have a US visa.
The following day I ventured out, going back to the cafeteria that evening. The engineering student walked over to me and informed me that he had arranged an interview for me with the director of the microscopy lab at Columbia. Because he had taken the effort, I went to the meeting – but right away told my prospective employer that I was without a work permit, so I was probably wasting her time.
In typical New York fashion – a city where opportunities abound – she responded: “We'll handle it. How soon can you begin?” I never got on that flight to London.
I held that position for three years. One of the benefits was that I got no-cost classes at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to complete a graduate degree in global studies.
We didn't cross paths after that and I don’t even know his full name, but his selfless gesture changed my life in numerous aspects. I didn't possess the confidence or nerve to approach someone at an elite institution and ask for a job. Moreover, I had consistently hoped to pursue education overseas, but could never have afforded it without that tuition waiver.
Critically, that role at the university resulted in a job in Zurich where I got to know my handsome spouse from France, with whom I am raising four amazing children. It was a total sliding doors moment. That benevolent individual redirected my path in life, and I’m forever grateful.
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