In the late 1980s, I was beginning a low-cost journey to the European continent with a friend. Because my companion was interested in pursuing a master’s degree in New York, we had planned a 14-day stopover there en route to London.
We reached the student accommodation, a sizeable 10-storey building on the Upper West Side named International House. After dropping our bags, we headed straight to the canteen, where we grabbed food, found a table, and started talking to people eating there.
Adjacent to my seat was an individual of Iraqi origin studying engineering at Columbia University. He inquired what I did, and I told him that I had just graduated with a scientific background and had been working on studies with electron microscopy.
He pointed out that there was an research lab at Columbia University – close to the school of engineering, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He proposed that I consider applying for a position with them. I dismissed the idea, telling him that I was heading off to Europe and, additionally, I lacked a US visa.
The following day I toured the city, returning to the canteen that evening. The engineering student walked over to 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 went to the meeting – but immediately informed my host that I was without a work permit, so I was probably wasting her time.
Reflecting the city's spirit – a city where anything feels possible – she said: “We'll handle it. How soon can you begin?” I never got on that flight to London.
I worked there for 36 months. A perk of the job was that I got complimentary education at Columbia, and I seized the chance to earn a graduate degree in global studies.
I never saw that student again and I am unaware of his full name, but his selfless gesture altered my destiny in multiple respects. I would never have had the courage or self-assurance to reach out at an prestigious college and request employment. Moreover, I had always wanted to pursue education overseas, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that educational benefit.
Perhaps most importantly, that job in New York resulted in a role in Europe where I encountered my beautiful French husband, with whom I now have a family of four kids. This was a pivotal life event. That benevolent individual redirected my path in life, and I’m eternally thankful.
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