During the final years of the 1980s, I was embarking on a backpacking trip to the European continent with a travel partner. Because my travel mate was interested in enrolling in graduate studies in New York, we had planned a two-week stay there on the way to London.
We got to the graduate housing, a sizeable 10-storey building on the UWS called International House. Once we unpacked, we made our way to the cafeteria, where we got some food, took a seat, and started talking to fellow residents.
Sitting next to me was an Iraqi man pursuing an engineering degree at Columbia University. He inquired what I did for a living, and I told him that I had newly finished with a science degree and had been performing experiments using an electron microscope.
He pointed out that there was an electron microscope unit at Columbia University – adjacent to the school of engineering, which was why he was aware of it. He proposed that I ought to seek a role with them. I laughed it off, saying that I was soon departing to Europe and, more critically, I did not possess a US visa.
The following day I toured the city, coming back to the dining hall that after dark. The engineering student approached me and let me know that he had organized a discussion for me with the leader of the research team at Columbia. Given that he had taken the effort, I showed up for the discussion – but immediately informed my host that I didn’t have a visa, so I was likely not a suitable candidate.
In typical New York fashion – a metropolis where opportunities abound – she said: “That can be arranged. How soon can you begin?” I didn't board the aircraft to London.
I was employed there for a trio of years. An advantage of the role was that I was granted free tuition at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to earn a postgrad program in international relations.
We didn't cross paths after that and I am unaware of his identity, but his selfless gesture transformed my future in so many ways. I lacked the courage or self-assurance to reach out at an Ivy League university and seek a position. And, I had consistently hoped to pursue education overseas, but could never have afforded it without that tuition waiver.
Perhaps most importantly, that gig at Columbia paved the way for a role in Europe where I got to know my handsome spouse from France, with whom I am raising a family of four kids. It was a total sliding doors moment. That benevolent individual changed my trajectory in life, and I’m always appreciative.
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