During the closing decade of the 80s, I was beginning a low-cost journey to the European continent with a travel partner. Since my travel mate was exploring enrolling in graduate studies in the Big Apple, we had booked a fortnight visit there on the way to London.
We got to the graduate housing, a sizeable 10-storey building on the UWS called International House. After dropping our bags, we made our way to the cafeteria, where we got some food, took a seat, and began chatting with people eating there.
Beside me was an Iraqi man enrolled in an engineering program at Columbia University. He inquired what I did, and I shared that I had just graduated with a science degree and had been performing experiments involving microscopic analysis.
He mentioned that there was an electron microscope unit at the university – close to the school of engineering, which was why he was aware of it. He proposed that I ought to seek a position with them. I chuckled at the suggestion, saying that I was heading off to Europe and, more critically, I didn’t have a US visa.
The following day I ventured out, returning to the canteen that after dark. The Iraqi student came up to me and told me that he had arranged an interview for me with the director of the microscopy lab at Columbia. Given that he had gone to the trouble, I showed up for the discussion – but straight off told my prospective employer that I was without a work permit, so I was unable to accept the role.
Reflecting the city's spirit – a metropolis where everything seems achievable – she said: “We can make that happen. When can you start?” I never got on that flight to London.
I held that position for a trio of years. One of the benefits was that I was granted no-cost classes at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to earn a graduate degree in global studies.
We didn't cross paths after that and I am unaware of his identity, but his remarkable generosity transformed my future in multiple respects. I didn't possess the confidence or nerve to reach out at an elite institution and seek a position. Additionally, I had long dreamed to pursue education overseas, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that free tuition.
Critically, that job in New York resulted in a job in Zurich where I met my beautiful French husband, with whom I now have four amazing children. It was a total sliding doors moment. That benevolent individual set me on a different course in life, and I’m eternally thankful.
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