During the final years of the 1980s, I was embarking on a low-cost journey to Europe with a companion. Because my travel mate was interested in enrolling in graduate studies in the Big Apple, we had arranged a 14-day stopover there before heading to London.
We got to the student accommodation, a sizeable 10-storey building on the Upper West Side called International House. Once we unpacked, we went directly to the cafeteria, where we picked up meals, sat down, and started talking to fellow residents.
Adjacent to my seat was an Iraqi man pursuing an engineering degree at Columbia University. He inquired what I my profession was, and I shared that I had just graduated with a degree in science and had been conducting research with electron microscopy.
He noted that there was an research lab at the institution – close to the school of engineering, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He recommended that I should apply for a job with them. I laughed it off, telling him that I was heading off to Europe and, even more importantly, I did not possess a US visa.
A day later I toured the city, coming back to the dining hall that night. The man from Iraq came up to me and let me know that he had organized a discussion for me with the director of the microscopy lab at Columbia. Given that he had taken the effort, I went to the meeting – but immediately told my interviewer that I didn’t have a visa, so I was probably wasting her time.
As is common in NYC – a metropolis where everything seems achievable – she declared: “We'll handle it. When can you start?” I never got on that flight to London.
I was employed there for three years. A perk of the job was that I also received complimentary education at Columbia, and I seized the chance to complete a postgrad program in international relations.
I never saw that student again and I am unaware of his identity, but his incredible act of kindness transformed my future in so many ways. I lacked the bravery or self-assurance to reach out at an prestigious college and request employment. And, I had long dreamed to take classes in another country, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that free tuition.
What's more, that gig at Columbia paved the way for a job in Zurich where I encountered my beautiful French husband, with whom I currently share four wonderful sons and daughters. That encounter altered everything. That kind stranger changed my trajectory in life, and I’m eternally thankful.
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