During the closing decade of the 80s, I was embarking on a low-cost journey to the European continent with a companion. Because my travel mate was considering pursuing a master’s degree in New York, we had arranged a two-week stay there on the way to London.
We got to the student accommodation, a sizeable multi-story edifice on the Upper West Side known as International House. Setting down our luggage, we went directly to the dining hall, where we picked up meals, found a table, and began chatting with people eating there.
Beside me was an gentleman from Iraq enrolled in an engineering program at an Ivy League institution. He wanted to know what I my profession was, and I told him 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 electron microscope unit at the institution – close to the engineering faculty, which was how he knew about it. He recommended that I should apply for a role with them. I laughed it off, telling him that I was soon departing to Europe and, even more importantly, I did not possess a US visa.
A day later I toured the city, returning to the canteen that evening. The Iraqi student walked over to me and informed me that he had set up a meeting for me with the head of the electron microscope unit at Columbia. Given that he had made the arrangement, I attended the interview – but immediately told my interviewer that I lacked the necessary visa, so I was likely not a suitable candidate.
As is common in NYC – a city where anything feels possible – she responded: “That can be arranged. How soon can you begin?” I missed my plane to London.
I worked there for 36 months. An advantage of the role was that I got no-cost classes at Columbia, and I seized the chance to complete a master’s of international affairs.
I lost touch with him and I can't recall his identity, but his remarkable generosity transformed my future in so many ways. I lacked the courage or self-assurance to contact anyone at an elite institution and seek a position. Additionally, I had long dreamed to study abroad, but could never have afforded it without that free tuition.
Critically, that gig at Columbia paved the way for a role in Europe where I got to know my wonderful partner, with whom I am raising four wonderful sons and daughters. That encounter altered everything. That helpful person redirected my path in life, and I’m forever grateful.
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