In the final years of the 1980s, I set out on a budget travel adventure to Europe with a companion. Since my travel mate was exploring enrolling in graduate studies in the Big Apple, we had booked a two-week stay there before heading to London.
We got to the student accommodation, a big 10-storey building on the UWS named International House. Setting down our luggage, we made our way to the dining hall, where we got some food, found a table, and engaged in conversation with fellow residents.
Beside me was an Iraqi man pursuing an engineering degree at an Ivy League institution. He wanted to know what I did, and I told him that I had just graduated with a science degree and had been working on studies involving microscopic analysis.
He noted that there was an electron microscope unit at the university – close to the school of engineering, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He proposed 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 did not possess a US visa.
The following day I ventured out, coming back to the dining hall that night. The Iraqi student walked over to me and informed me that he had set up a meeting for me with the leader of the research team at Columbia. Given that he had gone to the trouble, I attended the interview – but straight off told my prospective employer that I was without a work permit, so I was unable to accept the role.
In typical New York fashion – a place where opportunities abound – she declared: “We'll handle it. When can you start?” I never got on that flight to London.
I was employed there for 36 months. A perk of the job was that I also received complimentary education at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to earn a graduate degree in global studies.
I lost touch with him and I don’t even know his identity, but his incredible act of kindness altered my destiny in so many ways. I would never have had the bravery or self-assurance to reach out at an elite institution and seek a position. Additionally, I had consistently hoped to pursue education overseas, but could never have afforded it without that free tuition.
Perhaps most importantly, that role at the university led me to a job in Zurich where I encountered my handsome spouse from France, with whom I now have four wonderful sons and daughters. It was a total sliding doors moment. That kind stranger redirected my path in life, and I’m forever grateful.
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