In the late 1980s, I was beginning a budget travel adventure to the European continent with a travel partner. Because my travel mate was interested in pursuing a master’s degree in the Big Apple, we had planned a fortnight visit there en route to London.
We arrived at the student accommodation, a big 10-storey building on the UWS known as International House. Once we unpacked, we made our way to the cafeteria, where we grabbed food, took a seat, and engaged in conversation with fellow residents.
Adjacent to my seat was an gentleman from Iraq enrolled in an engineering program at Columbia University. He asked me what I did for a living, and I shared that I had newly finished with a degree in science and had been performing experiments using an electron microscope.
He pointed out that there was an electron microscope unit at the institution – right next door to the engineering department, which was why he was aware of it. He recommended that I ought to seek a job with them. I dismissed the idea, saying that I was soon departing to Europe and, even more importantly, I didn’t have a US visa.
The next day I toured the city, returning to the canteen that after dark. The Iraqi student walked over to me and informed me that he had organized a discussion for me with the director of the microscopy lab at Columbia. Given that he had gone to the trouble, I went to the meeting – but straight off explained to my host that I lacked the necessary visa, so I was unable to accept the role.
In typical New York fashion – a place where everything seems achievable – she declared: “We'll handle it. How soon can you begin?” I never got on that flight to London.
I held that position for three years. A perk of the job was that I got no-cost classes at Columbia, and I seized the chance to finish a postgrad program in international relations.
I lost touch with him and I don’t even know his full name, but his selfless gesture altered my destiny in numerous aspects. I lacked the confidence or nerve to reach out at an prestigious college and request employment. Additionally, I had always wanted to study abroad, 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 position in Switzerland where I met my beautiful French husband, with whom I now have four amazing children. That encounter altered everything. That kind stranger changed my trajectory in life, and I’m eternally thankful.
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