In the final years of the 1980s, I set out on a budget travel adventure to the European continent with a companion. Since my friend was interested in enrolling in graduate studies in NYC, we had booked a fortnight visit there on the way to London.
We got to the student accommodation, a large multi-story edifice on the UWS named International House. After dropping our bags, we made our way to the cafeteria, where we grabbed food, took a seat, and engaged in conversation with people eating there.
Adjacent to my seat was an Iraqi man enrolled in an engineering program at a prestigious New York university. He wanted to know what I did, and I explained that I had just graduated with a degree in science and had been performing experiments involving microscopic analysis.
He pointed out that there was an microscopy facility at the university – adjacent to the school of engineering, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He proposed that I ought to seek a role with them. I dismissed the idea, saying that I was soon departing to Europe and, additionally, I didn’t have a US visa.
The next day I went out exploring, returning to the canteen that evening. The Iraqi student walked over to me and told me that he had arranged an interview for me with the head of the electron microscope unit at Columbia. Because he had made the arrangement, I went to the meeting – but straight off informed my host that I didn’t have a visa, so I was probably wasting her time.
As is common in NYC – a place where everything seems achievable – she responded: “We can make that happen. When can you start?” I never got on that flight to London.
I held that position for a trio of years. A perk of the job was that I also received free tuition at Columbia, and I took advantage to finish a master’s of international affairs.
I never saw that student again and I don’t even know his full name, but his remarkable generosity altered my destiny in numerous aspects. I would never have had the bravery or self-belief to reach out at an Ivy League university and seek a position. And, I had always wanted to study abroad, but lacked the financial means without that free tuition.
Critically, that job in New York paved the way for a role in Europe where I met my wonderful partner, with whom I currently share four wonderful sons and daughters. That encounter altered everything. That benevolent individual set me on a different course in life, and I’m forever grateful.
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