During the closing decade of the 80s, I set out on a backpacking trip to the European continent with a friend. Because my friend was considering starting a postgraduate program in the Big Apple, we had booked a 14-day stopover there on the way to London.
We arrived at the graduate housing, a sizeable ten-floor structure on the Manhattan's Upper West Side called International House. After dropping our bags, we went directly to the dining hall, where we got some food, sat down, and started talking to people eating there.
Sitting next to me was an gentleman from Iraq enrolled in an engineering program at Columbia University. He asked me what I my profession was, and I explained that I had just graduated with a degree in science and had been conducting research involving microscopic analysis.
He pointed out that there was an research lab at the university – close to the school of engineering, which was how he knew about it. He suggested that I should apply for a role with them. I laughed it off, saying that I was about to fly to Europe and, more critically, I lacked a US visa.
The next day I ventured out, returning to the canteen that night. The engineering student walked over to me and informed me that he had arranged an interview for me with the head of the electron microscope unit at Columbia. Given that he had gone to the trouble, I went to the meeting – but right away told my prospective employer that I didn’t have a visa, so I was probably wasting her time.
Reflecting the city's spirit – a city where opportunities abound – she responded: “That can be arranged. When can you start?” I missed my plane to London.
I was employed there for 36 months. A perk of the job was that I was granted free tuition at Columbia, and I took advantage to complete a postgrad program in international relations.
I never saw that student again and I don’t even know his name, but his remarkable generosity changed my life in multiple respects. I lacked the courage or self-belief to reach out at an Ivy League university and seek a position. And, I had long dreamed to pursue education overseas, but lacked the financial means without that educational benefit.
What's more, that role at the university 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 kind stranger changed my trajectory in life, and I’m always appreciative.
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