In the final years of the 1980s, I set out on a backpacking trip to Europe with a companion. Since my companion was exploring pursuing a master’s degree in the Big Apple, we had booked a fortnight visit there on the way to London.
We got to the student accommodation, a sizeable multi-story edifice on the Manhattan's Upper West Side named International House. Setting down our luggage, we headed straight to the dining hall, where we picked up meals, found a table, and began chatting with fellow residents.
Beside me was an Iraqi man studying engineering at an Ivy League institution. He inquired what I did for a living, and I explained that I had newly finished with a scientific background and had been performing experiments involving microscopic analysis.
He noted that there was an electron microscope unit at the institution – right next door to the school of engineering, which was how he knew about it. He suggested that I ought to seek a position with them. I dismissed the idea, telling him that I was about to fly to Europe and, more critically, I lacked a US visa.
The following day I toured the city, going back to the cafeteria that after dark. The Iraqi student walked over to me and informed me that he had organized a discussion for me with the head of the electron microscope unit at Columbia. Because he had taken the effort, I went to the meeting – but right away told my host that I didn’t have a visa, so I was probably wasting her time.
In typical New York fashion – a city where opportunities abound – she said: “We can make that happen. When can you start?” I missed my plane to London.
I worked there for a trio of years. A perk of the job was that I also received no-cost classes at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to finish a master’s of international affairs.
I lost touch with him and I don’t even know his name, but his selfless gesture altered my destiny in multiple respects. I lacked the bravery or self-belief to contact anyone at an prestigious college and ask for a job. Additionally, I had consistently hoped to take classes in another country, but could never have afforded it without that educational benefit.
Critically, that job in New York paved the way for a role in Europe where I met my handsome spouse from France, with whom I now have a family of four kids. That encounter altered everything. That helpful person redirected my path in life, and I’m always appreciative.
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