During the late 1980s, I was beginning a budget travel adventure to the European continent with a travel partner. Because my friend was interested in pursuing a master’s degree in NYC, we had arranged a 14-day stopover there on the way to London.
We reached the graduate housing, a big 10-storey building on the Upper West Side named International House. After dropping our bags, we made our way to the dining hall, where we grabbed food, found a table, and started talking to other diners.
Adjacent to my seat was an Iraqi man pursuing an engineering degree at Columbia University. He wanted to know what I my profession was, and I told him that I had just graduated with a science degree and had been working on studies using an electron microscope.
He noted that there was an electron microscope unit at the university – adjacent to the engineering department, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He recommended that I consider applying for a position with them. I chuckled at the suggestion, explaining that I was heading off to Europe and, even more importantly, I lacked a US visa.
The following day I went out exploring, coming back to the dining hall that evening. The man from Iraq came up to me and let me know that he had set up a meeting for me with the director of the microscopy lab at Columbia. Because he had taken the effort, I attended the interview – but right away informed my prospective employer that I didn’t have a visa, so I was unable to accept the role.
As is common in NYC – a metropolis where everything seems achievable – she declared: “That can be arranged. How soon can you begin?” I missed my plane to London.
I worked there for 36 months. A perk of the job was that I was granted free tuition at Columbia, and I took advantage to complete a master’s of international affairs.
I lost touch with him and I can't recall his full name, but his selfless gesture changed my life in so many ways. I lacked the courage or self-belief to contact anyone at an prestigious college and ask for a job. And, I had long dreamed to pursue education overseas, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that educational benefit.
What's more, that role at the university paved the way for a role in Europe where I encountered my beautiful French husband, with whom I am raising four amazing children. It was a total sliding doors moment. That benevolent individual redirected my path in life, and I’m forever grateful.
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