During the late 1980s, I was beginning a budget travel adventure to Europe with a companion. Because my travel mate was considering pursuing a master’s degree in the Big Apple, we had booked a fortnight visit there before heading to London.
We reached the graduate housing, a big 10-storey building on the UWS known as International House. Once we unpacked, we made our way to the cafeteria, where we got some food, found a table, and started talking to people eating there.
Adjacent to my seat was an Iraqi man studying engineering at a prestigious New York university. He wanted to know what I did, and I told him that I had newly finished with a science degree and had been performing experiments with electron microscopy.
He pointed out that there was an electron microscope unit at the university – close to the engineering department, which was why he was aware of it. He recommended that I consider applying for a job with them. I dismissed the idea, telling him that I was about to fly to Europe and, additionally, I did not possess a US visa.
A day later I went out exploring, going back to the cafeteria that after dark. The engineering student approached me and informed me that he had set up a meeting for me with the leader of the research team at Columbia. Because he had taken the effort, I attended the interview – but right away explained to my host that I didn’t have a visa, so I was unable to accept the role.
In typical New York fashion – a metropolis where everything seems achievable – she declared: “We can make that happen. What's your start date?” I didn't board the aircraft to London.
I was employed there for three years. An advantage of the role was that I got no-cost classes at Columbia, and I took advantage to complete a master’s of international affairs.
I never saw that student again and I can't recall his name, but his remarkable generosity changed my life in multiple respects. I would never have had the bravery or self-belief to contact anyone at an elite institution and ask for a job. Additionally, I had consistently hoped to take classes in another country, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that tuition waiver.
Critically, that job in New York paved the way for a role in Europe where I got to know my handsome spouse from France, with whom I am raising four wonderful sons and daughters. That encounter altered everything. That kind stranger changed my trajectory in life, and I’m forever grateful.
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