In the final years of the 1980s, I was embarking on a budget travel adventure to Europe with a friend. Because my friend was interested in enrolling in graduate studies in New York, we had booked a 14-day stopover there before heading to London.
We reached the graduate housing, a big multi-story edifice on the Upper West Side named International House. Setting down our luggage, we made our way to the cafeteria, where we got some food, took a seat, and began chatting with other diners.
Adjacent to my seat was an gentleman from Iraq enrolled in an engineering program at a prestigious New York university. He asked me what I did, and I explained that I had newly finished with a scientific background and had been performing experiments involving microscopic analysis.
He noted that there was an microscopy facility at the university – adjacent to the school of engineering, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He recommended that I consider applying for a role with them. I dismissed the idea, telling him that I was about to fly to Europe and, additionally, I didn’t have a US visa.
A day later I toured the city, coming back to the dining hall that night. The man from Iraq walked over to me and told me that he had set up a meeting for me with the head of the electron microscope unit at Columbia. Because he had gone to the trouble, I attended the interview – but immediately explained to my host that I didn’t have a visa, so I was unable to accept the role.
Reflecting the city's spirit – a city where opportunities abound – she responded: “We can make that happen. When can you start?” I missed my plane to London.
I worked there for three years. One of the benefits was that I got complimentary education at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to finish a graduate degree in global studies.
We didn't cross paths after that and I don’t even know his name, but his selfless gesture transformed my future in so many ways. I lacked the bravery or nerve to contact anyone at an elite institution and ask for a job. Moreover, I had consistently hoped to study abroad, but could never have afforded it without that free tuition.
What's more, that role at the university paved the way for a position in Switzerland where I met my beautiful French husband, with whom I currently share four amazing children. That encounter altered everything. That kind stranger changed my trajectory in life, and I’m forever grateful.
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