In the final years of the 1980s, I was beginning a backpacking trip to the European continent with a travel partner. Because my travel mate was interested in pursuing a master’s degree in New York, we had arranged a fortnight visit there before heading to London.
We arrived at the graduate housing, a big ten-floor structure on the Manhattan's Upper West Side called International House. After dropping our bags, we went directly to the dining hall, where we got some food, found a table, and started talking to other diners.
Sitting next to me was an individual of Iraqi origin pursuing an engineering degree at a prestigious New York university. He asked me what I did for a living, and I shared that I had just graduated with a scientific background and had been conducting research with electron microscopy.
He noted that there was an microscopy facility at the institution – right next door to the school of engineering, which was how he knew about it. He proposed that I should apply for a job with them. I laughed it off, explaining that I was soon departing to Europe and, even more importantly, I did not possess a US visa.
The next day I toured the city, going back to the cafeteria that night. The engineering student walked over to me and told me that he had set up a meeting for me with the head of the electron microscope unit at Columbia. Because he had made the arrangement, I attended the interview – but right away informed my prospective employer that I was without a work permit, so I was likely not a suitable candidate.
In typical New York fashion – a place where everything seems achievable – she responded: “We'll handle it. How soon can you begin?” I didn't board the aircraft to London.
I held that position for three years. An advantage of the role was that I also received no-cost classes at Columbia, and I seized the chance to earn a postgrad program in international relations.
We didn't cross paths after that and I don’t even know his name, but his selfless gesture changed my life in numerous aspects. I would never have had the courage or nerve to approach someone at an prestigious college and seek a position. Moreover, I had always wanted to study abroad, but could never have afforded it without that free tuition.
What's more, that role at the university resulted in a position in Switzerland where I got to know my beautiful French husband, with whom I currently share a family of four kids. It was a total sliding doors moment. That kind stranger redirected my path in life, and I’m forever grateful.
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