During the late 1980s, I was beginning a backpacking trip to Europe with a friend. Because my companion was interested in enrolling in graduate studies in New York, we had booked a 14-day stopover there en route to London.
We got to the graduate housing, a sizeable 10-storey building on the UWS called International House. Setting down our luggage, we made our way to the dining hall, where we got some food, found a table, and engaged in conversation with people eating there.
Beside me was an individual of Iraqi origin pursuing an engineering degree at a prestigious New York university. He wanted to know what I did, and I explained that I had newly finished with a science degree and had been performing experiments with electron microscopy.
He noted that there was an microscopy facility at Columbia University – right next door to the engineering department, which was how he knew about it. He recommended that I consider applying for a role with them. I chuckled at the suggestion, telling him that I was soon departing to Europe and, more critically, I didn’t have a US visa.
The next day I went out exploring, returning to the canteen that night. The man from Iraq walked over to me and informed me that he had arranged an interview for me with the leader of the research team at Columbia. Because he had taken the effort, I showed up for the discussion – but immediately told my prospective employer that I didn’t have a visa, so I was likely not a suitable candidate.
Reflecting the city's spirit – a city where everything seems achievable – she responded: “That can be arranged. When can you start?” I didn't board the aircraft to London.
I worked there for 36 months. One of the benefits was that I also received no-cost classes at Columbia, and I took advantage to complete a postgrad program in international relations.
I lost touch with him and I can't recall his identity, but his selfless gesture transformed my future in multiple respects. I would never have had the confidence or self-assurance to reach out at an prestigious college and ask for a job. Additionally, I had always wanted to take classes in another country, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that tuition waiver.
Critically, that role at the university resulted in a position in Switzerland where I encountered my beautiful French husband, with whom I am raising four amazing children. That encounter altered everything. That helpful person changed my trajectory in life, and I’m forever grateful.
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