During the closing decade of the 80s, I was embarking on a budget travel adventure to the European continent with a friend. Because my friend was considering pursuing a master’s degree in New York, we had arranged a two-week stay there on the way to London.
We arrived at the postgrad residence, a big ten-floor structure on the Manhattan's Upper West Side called International House. After dropping our bags, we headed straight to the dining hall, where we picked up meals, found a table, and began chatting with fellow residents.
Sitting next to me was an Iraqi man studying engineering at an Ivy League institution. He inquired what I my profession was, and I explained that I had recently completed my studies with a science degree and had been performing experiments involving microscopic analysis.
He noted that there was an electron microscope unit at Columbia University – right next door to the engineering faculty, which was how he knew about it. He suggested that I consider applying for a role with them. I laughed it off, telling him that I was soon departing to Europe and, more critically, I didn’t have a US visa.
The following day I toured the city, going back to the cafeteria that evening. The engineering student came up to me and informed me that he had set up a meeting for me with the director of the microscopy lab at Columbia. Since he had made the arrangement, I went to the meeting – but immediately informed my prospective employer that I was without a work permit, so I was likely not a suitable candidate.
Reflecting the city's spirit – a metropolis where anything feels possible – she said: “That can be arranged. How soon can you begin?” I never got on that flight to London.
I was employed there for 36 months. An advantage of the role was that I got no-cost classes at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to finish a master’s of international affairs.
We didn't cross paths after that and I am unaware of his name, but his selfless gesture changed my life in multiple respects. I lacked the courage or self-belief to reach out at an Ivy League university and request employment. Moreover, I had long dreamed to take classes in another country, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that free tuition.
Perhaps most importantly, that job in New York resulted in a position in Switzerland where I encountered my beautiful French husband, with whom I now have four amazing children. It was a total sliding doors moment. That helpful person changed my trajectory in life, and I’m forever grateful.
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