During the closing decade of the 80s, I was beginning a low-cost journey to Europe with a travel partner. Since my companion was interested in starting a postgraduate program in the Big Apple, we had arranged a two-week stay there before heading to London.
We reached the student accommodation, a sizeable multi-story edifice on the UWS named International House. Setting down our luggage, we made our way to the canteen, where we picked up meals, found a table, and began chatting with people eating there.
Beside me was an individual of Iraqi origin studying engineering at a prestigious New York university. He asked me what I did for a living, and I shared that I had just graduated with a science degree and had been performing experiments using an electron microscope.
He mentioned that there was an research lab at the university – close to the engineering faculty, which was how he knew about it. He proposed that I consider applying for a position with them. I chuckled at the suggestion, telling him that I was heading off to Europe and, additionally, I didn’t have a US visa.
A day later I toured the city, returning to the canteen that after dark. 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. Since he had made the arrangement, I went to the meeting – but straight off told my prospective employer that I lacked the necessary visa, so I was probably wasting her time.
In typical New York fashion – a metropolis where everything seems achievable – she said: “We'll handle it. What's your start date?” I never got on that flight to London.
I worked there for three years. One of the benefits was that I was granted free tuition at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to finish a postgrad program in international relations.
We didn't cross paths after that and I can't recall his identity, but his remarkable generosity altered my destiny in numerous aspects. I would never have had the courage or self-belief to reach out at an elite institution and ask for a job. Moreover, I had always wanted to take classes in another country, but could never have afforded it without that educational benefit.
What's more, that role at the university resulted in a position in Switzerland where I got to know my beautiful French husband, 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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