In the closing decade of the 80s, I was embarking on a backpacking trip to the European continent with a companion. Because my friend was considering enrolling in graduate studies in New York, we had planned a 14-day stopover there en route to London.
We got to the graduate housing, a large 10-storey building on the Upper West Side named International House. Setting down our luggage, we went directly to the dining hall, where we picked up meals, took a seat, and engaged in conversation with fellow residents.
Adjacent to my seat was an gentleman from Iraq enrolled in an engineering program at Columbia University. He asked me what I my profession was, and I told him that I had newly finished with a science degree and had been working on studies with electron microscopy.
He pointed out that there was an electron microscope unit at Columbia University – right next door to the engineering department, which was how he knew about it. He recommended that I consider applying for a job with them. I chuckled at the suggestion, telling him that I was about to fly to Europe and, more critically, I didn’t have a US visa.
The following day I ventured out, coming back to the dining hall that night. The engineering student walked over to me and let me know that he had organized a discussion for me with the leader of the research team at Columbia. Since he had taken the effort, I went to the meeting – but right away informed my prospective employer that I lacked the necessary visa, so I was likely not a suitable candidate.
In typical New York fashion – a metropolis where opportunities abound – she said: “We can make that happen. What's your start date?” I didn't board the aircraft to London.
I was employed there for a trio of years. An advantage of the role was that I was granted complimentary education at Columbia, and I seized the chance to earn a graduate degree in global studies.
We didn't cross paths after that and I am unaware of his identity, but his selfless gesture altered my destiny in so many ways. I would never have had the confidence or nerve to contact anyone at an Ivy League university and ask for a job. Additionally, I had always wanted to study abroad, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that free tuition.
Critically, that job in New York resulted in a job in Zurich where I got to know my beautiful French husband, with whom I am raising a family of four kids. This was a pivotal life event. That kind stranger set me on a different course in life, and I’m always appreciative.
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