During the late 1980s, I set out on a low-cost journey to the European continent with a friend. Because my companion was interested in enrolling in graduate studies in the Big Apple, we had booked a two-week stay there before heading to London.
We arrived at the student accommodation, a large multi-story edifice on the UWS known as International House. After dropping our bags, we made our way to the canteen, where we got some food, sat down, and started talking to fellow residents.
Sitting next to me was an individual of Iraqi origin pursuing an engineering degree at an Ivy League institution. He inquired what I did for a living, and I shared that I had newly finished with a scientific background and had been conducting research with electron microscopy.
He mentioned that there was an research lab at the university – right next door to the engineering faculty, which was how he knew about it. He proposed that I ought to seek a position with them. I dismissed the idea, explaining that I was soon departing to Europe and, more critically, I didn’t have a US visa.
The next day I went out exploring, returning to the canteen that evening. The engineering student walked over to me and informed me that he had arranged an interview for me with the head of the electron microscope unit at Columbia. Since 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 likely not a suitable candidate.
In typical New York fashion – a city where opportunities abound – she said: “We'll handle it. How soon can you begin?” I didn't board the aircraft to London.
I was employed there for a trio of years. One of the benefits was that I also received free tuition at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to complete a postgrad program in international relations.
I lost touch with him and I don’t even know his full name, but his selfless gesture transformed my future in numerous aspects. I lacked the confidence or nerve to approach someone at an Ivy League university and seek a position. Moreover, 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 job in New York resulted in a position in Switzerland where I encountered my beautiful French husband, with whom I currently share four wonderful sons and daughters. That encounter altered everything. That helpful person changed my trajectory in life, and I’m eternally thankful.
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