In the final years of the 1980s, I set out on a low-cost journey to Europe with a companion. Because my friend was considering pursuing a master’s degree in New York, we had planned a 14-day stopover there en route to London.
We reached the postgrad residence, a big multi-story edifice on the UWS known as International House. Setting down our luggage, we headed straight to the canteen, where we picked up meals, found a table, and engaged in conversation with people eating there.
Sitting next to me was an gentleman from Iraq pursuing an engineering degree at an Ivy League institution. He asked me what I did for a living, and I told him that I had newly finished with a degree in science and had been working on studies involving microscopic analysis.
He noted that there was an research lab at the institution – close to the school of engineering, which was why he was aware of it. He suggested that I should apply for a role with them. I laughed it off, explaining that I was about to fly to Europe and, more critically, I did not possess a US visa.
The next day I toured the city, going back to the cafeteria that evening. The engineering student walked over to me and told me that he had organized a discussion for me with the director of the microscopy lab at Columbia. Since he had taken the effort, I attended the interview – but right away explained to my interviewer that I didn’t have a visa, so I was probably wasting her time.
Reflecting the city's spirit – a metropolis where anything feels possible – she responded: “That can be arranged. When can you start?” I didn't board the aircraft to London.
I held that position for 36 months. A perk of the job was that I also received free tuition at Columbia, and I seized the chance to earn a postgrad program in international relations.
We didn't cross paths after that and I am unaware of his identity, but his remarkable generosity changed my life in so many ways. I lacked the courage or self-assurance to reach out at an elite institution and request employment. Additionally, I had long dreamed to study abroad, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that free tuition.
Perhaps most importantly, that job in New York paved the way for a role in Europe where I encountered my beautiful French husband, with whom I am raising a family of four kids. It was a total sliding doors moment. That helpful person changed my trajectory in life, and I’m forever grateful.
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