In the late 1980s, I set out on a budget travel adventure to Europe with a travel partner. Since my friend was exploring pursuing a master’s degree in the Big Apple, we had planned a two-week stay there en route to London.
We arrived at the student accommodation, a sizeable 10-storey building on the Upper West Side named International House. Setting down our luggage, we made our way to the dining hall, where we grabbed food, found a table, and began chatting with people eating there.
Sitting next to me was an gentleman from Iraq pursuing an engineering degree at Columbia University. He asked me what I did, and I shared that I had recently completed my studies with a science degree and had been conducting research with electron microscopy.
He pointed out that there was an electron microscope unit at the institution – close to the engineering faculty, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He suggested that I ought to seek a role with them. I dismissed the idea, explaining that I was soon departing to Europe and, additionally, I lacked a US visa.
A day later I toured the city, returning to the canteen that evening. The engineering student came up to me and told me that he had set up a meeting for me with the director of the microscopy lab at Columbia. Since he had gone to the trouble, I showed up for the discussion – but immediately informed my interviewer that I lacked the necessary visa, so I was likely not a suitable candidate.
In typical New York fashion – a place where everything seems achievable – she declared: “We can make that happen. When can you start?” I never got on that flight to London.
I worked there for three years. A perk of the job was that I was granted no-cost classes at Columbia, and I seized the chance to complete a postgrad program in international relations.
I lost touch with him and I don’t even know his name, but his remarkable generosity altered my destiny in numerous aspects. I lacked the courage or nerve to reach out at an prestigious college and request employment. Additionally, I had always wanted to pursue education overseas, but lacked the financial means without that tuition waiver.
What's more, that role at the university resulted in a job in Zurich where I got to know my beautiful French husband, with whom I am raising four wonderful sons and daughters. That encounter altered everything. That helpful person redirected my path in life, and I’m always appreciative.
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