During the closing decade of the 80s, I was beginning a backpacking trip to Europe with a travel partner. Because my friend was considering pursuing a master’s degree in NYC, we had booked a two-week stay there before heading to London.
We arrived at the graduate housing, a large 10-storey building on the Upper West Side known as International House. Setting down our luggage, we made our way to the cafeteria, where we got some food, found a table, and began chatting with people eating there.
Sitting next to me was an Iraqi man pursuing an engineering degree at a prestigious New York university. He inquired what I my profession was, and I told him that I had recently completed my studies with a scientific background and had been performing experiments involving microscopic analysis.
He mentioned that there was an electron microscope unit at the university – close to the engineering faculty, which was why he was aware of it. He suggested that I ought to seek a job with them. I dismissed the idea, saying that I was soon departing to Europe and, additionally, I did not possess a US visa.
The next day I went out exploring, going back to the cafeteria that after dark. The man from Iraq walked over to me and informed me that he had organized a discussion for me with the head of the electron microscope unit at Columbia. Because he had made the arrangement, I went to the meeting – but straight off informed my interviewer that I lacked the necessary visa, so I was unable to accept the role.
In typical New York fashion – a metropolis where opportunities abound – she declared: “We'll handle it. How soon can you begin?” I never got on that flight to London.
I held that position for 36 months. A perk of the job was that I also received free tuition at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to complete a master’s of international affairs.
I never saw that student again and I am unaware of his identity, but his selfless gesture changed my life in so many ways. I lacked the courage or self-belief to approach someone at an elite institution and ask for a job. And, I had always wanted to take classes in another country, but lacked the financial means without that educational benefit.
What's more, that job in New York paved the way for a position in Switzerland where I encountered my beautiful French husband, with whom I currently share four amazing children. That encounter altered everything. That kind stranger changed my trajectory in life, and I’m always appreciative.
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