In the late 1980s, I was beginning a backpacking trip to the European continent with a friend. Because my friend was considering pursuing a master’s degree in the Big Apple, we had booked a fortnight visit there en route to London.
We got to the graduate housing, a large ten-floor structure on the UWS known as International House. Setting down our luggage, we headed straight to the canteen, where we grabbed food, sat down, and engaged in conversation with people eating there.
Sitting next to me was an gentleman from Iraq studying engineering at Columbia University. He wanted to know what I did for a living, and I shared that I had newly finished with a science degree and had been conducting research involving microscopic analysis.
He pointed out that there was an electron microscope unit at Columbia University – right next door to the engineering faculty, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He suggested that I consider applying for a position with them. I laughed it off, saying that I was about to fly to Europe and, even more importantly, I didn’t have a US visa.
The following day I ventured out, going back to the cafeteria that evening. The engineering student approached me and told me that he had arranged an interview for me with the head of the electron microscope unit at Columbia. Given that he had gone to the trouble, I attended the interview – but right away explained to my prospective employer that I didn’t have a visa, so I was likely not a suitable candidate.
In typical New York fashion – a metropolis where opportunities abound – she declared: “That can be arranged. How soon can you begin?” I never got on that flight to London.
I was employed there for three years. A perk of the job was that I was granted free tuition at Columbia, and I took advantage to earn a graduate degree in global studies.
We didn't cross paths after that and I don’t even know his name, but his remarkable generosity altered my destiny in so many ways. I would never have had the bravery or nerve to contact anyone at an Ivy League university and request employment. And, I had consistently hoped to pursue education overseas, but could never have afforded it without that tuition waiver.
What's more, that role at the university resulted in a role in Europe where I encountered my beautiful French husband, with whom I am raising four amazing children. That encounter altered everything. That kind stranger set me on a different course in life, and I’m always appreciative.
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