In the final years of the 1980s, I was beginning a backpacking trip to the European continent with a friend. Since my friend was exploring starting a postgraduate program in NYC, we had booked a two-week stay there en route to London.
We got to the postgrad residence, a large multi-story edifice on the Manhattan's Upper West Side called International House. Setting down our luggage, we headed straight to the cafeteria, where we picked up meals, took a seat, and engaged in conversation with other diners.
Adjacent to my seat was an Iraqi man studying engineering at a prestigious New York university. He inquired what I did, and I explained that I had newly finished with a science degree and had been working on studies using an electron microscope.
He mentioned that there was an microscopy facility at Columbia University – right next door to the engineering department, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He proposed that I ought to seek a position with them. I dismissed the idea, saying that I was heading off to Europe and, more critically, I lacked a US visa.
The next day I toured the city, coming back to the dining hall that night. The engineering student approached me and informed me that he had arranged an interview for me with the director of the microscopy lab at Columbia. Given that he had taken the effort, I attended the interview – but immediately explained to my host that I didn’t have a visa, so I was unable to accept the role.
As is common in NYC – a metropolis where everything seems achievable – she declared: “We can make that happen. What's your start date?” I didn't board the aircraft to London.
I worked there for three years. A perk of the job was that I got complimentary education at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to complete a graduate degree in global studies.
I lost touch with him and I am unaware of his full name, but his selfless gesture transformed my future in so many ways. I didn't possess the confidence or self-belief to contact anyone at an prestigious college and ask for a job. Additionally, I had consistently hoped to take classes in another country, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that free tuition.
What's more, that role at the university led me to a position in Switzerland where I got to know my handsome spouse from France, with whom I am raising four wonderful sons and daughters. This was a pivotal life event. That kind stranger redirected my path in life, and I’m forever grateful.
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