During the closing decade of the 80s, I was beginning a low-cost journey to the European continent with a companion. Since my friend was exploring enrolling in graduate studies in the Big Apple, we had arranged a fortnight visit there on the way to London.
We reached the graduate housing, a big 10-storey building on the Upper West Side named International House. After dropping our bags, we headed straight to the cafeteria, where we picked up meals, took a seat, and began chatting with other diners.
Beside me was an individual of Iraqi origin pursuing an engineering degree at a prestigious New York university. He asked me what I my profession was, and I told him that I had recently completed my studies with a degree in science and had been working on studies involving microscopic analysis.
He mentioned that there was an electron microscope unit at the university – right next door to the engineering department, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He suggested that I should apply for a role with them. I laughed it off, telling him that I was heading off to Europe and, even more importantly, I lacked a US visa.
A day later I ventured out, going back to the cafeteria that evening. The man from Iraq came up to me and let me know that he had organized a discussion for me with the head of the electron microscope unit at Columbia. Since he had taken the effort, I attended the interview – but straight off informed my interviewer that I didn’t have a visa, so I was probably wasting her time.
In typical New York fashion – a city where everything seems achievable – she responded: “That can be arranged. What's your start date?” I missed my plane to London.
I was employed there for 36 months. One of the benefits was that I got no-cost classes at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to finish a graduate degree in global studies.
I never saw that student again and I can't recall his full name, but his incredible act of kindness altered my destiny in numerous aspects. I would never have had the courage or self-belief to reach out at an elite institution and seek a position. And, I had consistently hoped to take classes in another country, but lacked the financial means without that educational benefit.
What's more, that job in New York led me to a position in Switzerland where I met my beautiful French husband, with whom I am raising four wonderful sons and daughters. That encounter altered everything. That kind stranger changed my trajectory in life, and I’m forever grateful.
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