In the final years of the 1980s, I set out on a backpacking trip to the European continent with a travel partner. Since my companion was considering enrolling in graduate studies in New York, we had planned a fortnight visit there en route to London.
We reached the graduate housing, a large ten-floor structure on the UWS named International House. Once we unpacked, we headed straight to the canteen, where we picked up meals, sat down, and started talking to people eating there.
Beside me was an individual of Iraqi origin pursuing an engineering degree at a prestigious New York university. He wanted to know what I did, and I shared that I had recently completed my studies with a degree in science and had been conducting research involving microscopic analysis.
He noted that there was an microscopy facility at the institution – adjacent to the engineering faculty, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He recommended that I ought to seek a job with them. I chuckled at the suggestion, telling him that I was soon departing to Europe and, even more importantly, I didn’t have a US visa.
The next day I went out exploring, coming back to the dining hall that evening. The engineering student walked over to me and told me that he had organized a discussion for me with the head of the electron microscope unit at Columbia. Because he had taken the effort, I went to the meeting – but straight off told my prospective employer that I didn’t have a visa, so I was unable to accept the role.
Reflecting the city's spirit – a metropolis where opportunities abound – she responded: “We'll handle it. How soon can you begin?” I didn't board the aircraft to London.
I held that position for 36 months. An advantage of the role was that I was granted free tuition at Columbia, and I took advantage to earn a postgrad program in international relations.
I never saw that student again and I am unaware of his full name, but his selfless gesture changed my life in multiple respects. I lacked the courage or self-belief to approach someone at an prestigious college and request employment. And, I had long dreamed to study abroad, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that tuition waiver.
What's more, that role at the university paved the way for a position in Switzerland where I met my beautiful French husband, with whom I currently share a family of four kids. This was a pivotal life event. That benevolent individual changed my trajectory in life, and I’m forever grateful.
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