In the final years of the 1980s, I set out on a budget travel adventure to Europe with a companion. Since my companion was exploring starting a postgraduate program in New York, we had arranged a fortnight visit there on the way to London.
We got to the student accommodation, a large ten-floor structure on the Upper West Side called International House. After dropping our bags, we made our way to the dining hall, where we got some food, took a seat, and started talking to people eating there.
Beside me was an individual of Iraqi origin enrolled in an engineering program at Columbia University. He asked me what I did for a living, and I shared that I had newly finished with a science degree and had been conducting research with electron microscopy.
He pointed out that there was an electron microscope unit at the institution – right next door to the engineering faculty, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He recommended that I should apply for a job with them. I chuckled at the suggestion, saying that I was heading off to Europe and, even more importantly, I lacked a US visa.
The next day I toured the city, coming back to the dining hall that evening. The engineering 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. Since he had made the arrangement, I went to the meeting – but right away explained to my host that I didn’t have a visa, so I was unable to accept the role.
As is common in NYC – a city where opportunities abound – she declared: “That can be arranged. How soon can you begin?” I didn't board the aircraft to London.
I held that position for 36 months. One of the benefits was that I got free tuition at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to earn a graduate degree in global studies.
I never saw that student again and I don’t even know his full name, but his incredible act of kindness transformed my future in multiple respects. I would never have had the bravery or self-assurance to reach out at an prestigious college and ask for a job. Additionally, I had always wanted to study abroad, but lacked the financial means without that free tuition.
What's more, that gig at Columbia led me to a role in Europe where I met my handsome spouse from France, with whom I am raising four amazing children. That encounter altered everything. That helpful person set me on a different course in life, and I’m forever grateful.
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