In the closing decade of the 80s, I set out on a budget travel adventure to Europe with a companion. Because my travel mate was considering starting a postgraduate program in New York, we had arranged a two-week stay there before heading to London.
We got to the graduate housing, a big multi-story edifice on the Upper West Side known as International House. After dropping our bags, we went directly to the canteen, where we picked up meals, took a seat, and began chatting with other diners.
Adjacent to my seat was an individual of Iraqi origin pursuing an engineering degree at a prestigious New York university. He wanted to know what I did for a living, and I explained that I had recently completed my studies with a degree in science and had been performing experiments with electron microscopy.
He noted that there was an microscopy facility at Columbia University – adjacent to the school of engineering, which was why he was aware of it. He proposed that I ought to seek a role with them. I chuckled at the suggestion, telling him that I was about to fly to Europe and, even more importantly, I did not possess a US visa.
A day later I ventured out, returning to the canteen that evening. The Iraqi student approached me and told me that he had set up a meeting for me with the head of the electron microscope unit at Columbia. Since he had made the arrangement, I attended the interview – but straight off informed my interviewer that I was without a work permit, so I was probably wasting her time.
Reflecting the city's spirit – a metropolis where everything seems achievable – she said: “We can make that happen. When can you start?” I didn't board the aircraft to London.
I held that position for a trio of years. One of the benefits was that I was granted free tuition at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to complete a master’s of international affairs.
I lost touch with him and I don’t even know his name, but his selfless gesture transformed my future in so many ways. I didn't possess the confidence or nerve to reach out at an prestigious college and ask for a job. And, I had long dreamed to take classes in another country, but lacked the financial means without that tuition waiver.
Perhaps most importantly, that gig at Columbia resulted in a position in Switzerland where I got to know my beautiful French husband, with whom I now have four amazing children. This was a pivotal life event. That kind stranger changed my trajectory in life, and I’m eternally thankful.
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