In the final years of the 1980s, I set out on a low-cost journey to Europe with a travel partner. Because my companion was considering enrolling in graduate studies in the Big Apple, we had arranged a 14-day stopover there en route to London.
We arrived at the student accommodation, a sizeable ten-floor structure on the Manhattan's Upper West Side known as International House. Setting down our luggage, we headed straight to the cafeteria, where we got some food, found a table, and started talking to people eating there.
Sitting next to me was an Iraqi man studying engineering at a prestigious New York university. He wanted to know what I did, and I shared that I had just graduated with a scientific background and had been conducting research using an electron microscope.
He noted that there was an research lab at Columbia University – close to the engineering faculty, which was why he was aware of it. He proposed that I ought to seek a role with them. I dismissed the idea, saying that I was heading off to Europe and, more critically, I didn’t have a US visa.
A day later I ventured out, coming back to the dining hall that evening. The Iraqi student approached me and told me that he had organized a discussion 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 explained to my prospective employer that I lacked the necessary visa, so I was unable to accept the role.
In typical New York fashion – a metropolis where opportunities abound – 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. One of the benefits was that I got free tuition at Columbia, and I seized the chance to complete a postgrad program in international relations.
I lost touch with him and I am unaware of his full name, but his selfless gesture changed my life in multiple respects. I didn't possess the courage or nerve to contact anyone at an elite institution and ask for a job. Additionally, I had consistently hoped to study abroad, but could never have afforded it without that educational benefit.
Perhaps most importantly, that job in New York resulted in a role in Europe where I encountered my handsome spouse from France, with whom I am raising four wonderful sons and daughters. That encounter altered everything. That benevolent individual redirected my path in life, and I’m always appreciative.
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