During the late 1980s, I was beginning a low-cost journey to the European continent with a friend. Because my companion was considering starting a postgraduate program in NYC, we had planned a 14-day stopover there on the way to London.
We reached the graduate housing, a sizeable ten-floor structure on the Manhattan's Upper West Side named International House. Setting down our luggage, we headed straight to the canteen, where we picked up meals, found a table, and started talking to fellow residents.
Adjacent to my seat was an gentleman from Iraq enrolled in an engineering program at an Ivy League institution. He asked me what I did for a living, and I told him that I had just graduated with a scientific background and had been working on studies with electron microscopy.
He mentioned that there was an microscopy facility at Columbia University – close to the school of engineering, which was how he knew about it. He suggested that I ought to seek a position with them. I laughed it off, telling him that I was soon departing to Europe and, even more importantly, I did not possess a US visa.
The following day I went out exploring, coming back to the dining hall that evening. The Iraqi student walked over to me and informed me that he had arranged an interview for me with the director of the microscopy lab at Columbia. Because he had taken the effort, I showed up for the discussion – but right away told my host that I lacked the necessary visa, so I was probably wasting her time.
As is common in NYC – a metropolis where anything feels possible – she declared: “We'll handle it. What's your start date?” I missed my plane to London.
I was employed there for 36 months. A perk of the job was that I was granted complimentary education at Columbia, and I took advantage to complete a master’s of international affairs.
We didn't cross paths after that and I don’t even know his full name, but his incredible act of kindness changed my life in multiple respects. I lacked the courage or self-belief to approach someone at an prestigious college and seek a position. Additionally, I had long dreamed to study abroad, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that educational benefit.
Critically, that role at the university paved the way for a role in Europe where I got to know my beautiful French husband, with whom I am raising four wonderful sons and daughters. It was a total sliding doors moment. That helpful person set me on a different course in life, and I’m forever grateful.
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