The Peripatetic.

(Continued from last week’s post)

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Part II: Graduate School

Mario called everyone.  Nobody could or would help him, not at that price.

As a foreign national, he was not eligible for U.S. financial aid.  One of his friends told him to talk to the school deans.  He did; they could offer a little by way of grants, but not much and certainly not enough.

For two weeks, he talked to everyone he could — students, professors, admissions staff.  He got nothing.

Soon after, however, Mario was sitting outside when a student came up to him and told him to talk to a woman launching a new program at the university.  He did, and she wrote him a check.  A $15,000 scholarship “just like that!” Mario cheered.

It was not, however, enough to cover the entire cost of tuition.

Alma Mater, photo courtesy of Mario

Mario was back sitting outside, this time next to Columbia’s Alma Mater statue, a women in Greek robes who sits in the middle of campus and a massive pedestrian thoroughfare.  He thought of a famous professor and took inspiration from that, then walked back inside and contacted Sallie Mae (the biggest student loan provider in the U.S.).

According to Mario, he befriended a woman at Sallie Mae who married a Colombian and is in love with the country (it must be a happy marriage).  She found a way to secure him a loan without an American cosigner or any credit history.

Tuition was covered.

Two weeks into his first semester, Mario was back at the Dean’s Office.  His grant only covered the first year.  What about the second?  The deans told him to do well and get involved: a high GPA and some student government couldn’t hurt.  Three months later, he ran for student government president.  He won.

Walking around campus, Mario saw a poster advertising a contest for financial trading.  You did not need to be a U.S. citizen to compete, and so he did.  He won.

Eventually, he started working for the financial trading firm, and Mario’s boss would host competition after competition as a means for him to earn enough money for this second year.  He never gave Mario any money, and he never made the competitions easy for him.  In fact, far from it.

Photo courtesy of Mario

One day Mario’s boss asked, “Where’s that hat you always wear?” I don’t think his boss had a special affinity for the hat, but he did love giving challenges.  The hat was back at Mario’s apartment near Columbia’s campus.  They were in Battery Park.  “Bring it to me in one hour” his boss said, “if you want to participate in the next competition.”

Mario jumped in a cab and told the driver he would tip him $20 if they made it to 116th Street in 25 minutes, which they did.  Mario then promised an extra $20 for the driver to wait a few minutes then get them back in under 25 minutes, which he did.  Mario entered and won the next competition.

Mario never got a second grant from the deans, so he hustled to finish his degree a semester early.

With the money he made from the firm, Mario had just enough to complete his degree, but he was running out of money for housing.

To be continued . . .