In the closing decade of the 80s, I was beginning a backpacking trip to the European continent with a companion. Since my friend was exploring pursuing a master’s degree in New York, we had arranged a fortnight visit there en route to London.
We arrived at the graduate housing, a big multi-story edifice on the Manhattan's Upper West Side known as International House. After dropping our bags, we went directly to the dining hall, where we picked up meals, sat down, and started talking to fellow residents.
Adjacent to my seat was an gentleman from Iraq pursuing an engineering degree at an Ivy League institution. He inquired what I did for a living, and I shared that I had just graduated with a science degree and had been conducting research using an electron microscope.
He noted that there was an electron microscope unit at Columbia University – adjacent to the school of engineering, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He suggested that I ought to seek a job with them. I chuckled at the suggestion, saying that I was about to fly to Europe and, additionally, I lacked a US visa.
The next day I went out exploring, coming back to the dining hall that after dark. The Iraqi student walked over to 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 made the arrangement, I went to the meeting – but immediately informed my host that I didn’t have a visa, so I was probably wasting her time.
As is common in NYC – a city where opportunities abound – she declared: “We'll handle it. What's your start date?” 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 got no-cost classes at Columbia, and I used the opportunity 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 selfless gesture changed my life in numerous aspects. I would never have had the bravery or self-assurance to approach someone at an prestigious college and request employment. And, I had always wanted to take classes in another country, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that tuition waiver.
Perhaps most importantly, that gig at Columbia led me to a role in Europe where I got to know my handsome spouse from France, with whom I now have a family of four kids. It was a total sliding doors moment. That kind stranger set me on a different course in life, and I’m always appreciative.
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