During the late 1980s, I was beginning a budget travel adventure to the European continent with a friend. Since my travel mate was considering enrolling in graduate studies in NYC, we had planned a fortnight visit there on the way to London.
We reached the student accommodation, a sizeable 10-storey building on the Manhattan's Upper West Side known as International House. Once we unpacked, we made our way to the cafeteria, where we grabbed food, sat down, and started talking to fellow residents.
Beside me was an gentleman from Iraq pursuing an engineering degree at an Ivy League institution. He asked me what I did, and I shared that I had newly finished with a science degree and had been conducting research with electron microscopy.
He noted that there was an microscopy facility at the university – right next door to the engineering faculty, which was why he was aware of it. He proposed that I ought to seek a position with them. I dismissed the idea, telling him that I was about to fly to Europe and, even more importantly, I didn’t have a US visa.
The next day I toured the city, going back to the cafeteria that evening. The engineering student came up to me and let me know that he had arranged an interview for me with the director of the microscopy lab at Columbia. Because he had gone to the trouble, I went to the meeting – but straight off informed my prospective employer that I didn’t have a visa, so I was unable to accept the role.
In typical New York fashion – a city where anything feels possible – she said: “We'll handle it. What's your start date?” I never got on that flight to London.
I worked there for a trio of years. One of the benefits was that I got no-cost classes at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to finish a master’s of international affairs.
I lost touch with him and I am unaware of his name, but his incredible act of kindness altered my destiny in numerous aspects. I would never have had the confidence or self-assurance to approach someone at an Ivy League university and seek a position. Additionally, I had consistently hoped to study abroad, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that free tuition.
What's more, that job in New York paved the way for a role in Europe where I encountered my beautiful French husband, with whom I currently share four amazing children. This was a pivotal life event. That kind stranger set me on a different course in life, and I’m eternally thankful.
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