Nepal, Aug. 11 -- In early April 1984, a letter arrived in my name via the regular postal service in our then home in Thamel, Kathmandu. This letter was much anticipated since it was the season for receiving responses from American colleges. I had applied to several in late 1983.

After I opened it, it became clear that there was good news for me. Brandeis University, located in Waltham (11 miles west of Boston), had admitted me to its undergraduate degree programme and offered a Wien International Scholarship to cover the costs of tuition, room, board and health insurance. The Wien Scholarship, as I would come to know later, was established in 1958 by Lawrence and Mae Wien to help bring undergraduate students from all over the world to B...