During the closing decade of the 80s, I was embarking on a backpacking trip to the European continent with a companion. Since my travel mate was exploring enrolling in graduate studies in the Big Apple, we had booked a fortnight visit there on the way to London.
We reached the postgrad residence, a large 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 picked up meals, sat down, and started talking to people eating there.
Adjacent to my seat was an gentleman from Iraq enrolled in an engineering program at a prestigious New York university. He inquired what I did for a living, and I told him that I had just graduated with a science degree and had been working on studies involving microscopic analysis.
He mentioned that there was an electron microscope unit at the university – close to the engineering faculty, which was how he knew about it. He proposed that I ought to seek a job with them. I chuckled at the suggestion, telling him that I was about to fly to Europe and, additionally, I did not possess a US visa.
The next day I went out exploring, going back to the cafeteria that night. The Iraqi student walked over to me and told me that he had organized a discussion for me with the leader of the research team at Columbia. Given that he had made the arrangement, I attended the interview – but straight off told my host that I didn’t have a visa, so I was probably wasting her time.
In typical New York fashion – a place where anything feels possible – she said: “We'll handle it. How soon can you begin?” I never got on that flight to London.
I was employed there for 36 months. A perk of the job was that I got no-cost classes at Columbia, and I took advantage to finish a graduate degree in global studies.
We didn't cross paths after that and I can't recall his identity, but his remarkable generosity changed my life in numerous aspects. I would never have had the bravery or self-assurance to approach someone at an elite institution and seek a position. Additionally, I had long dreamed to study abroad, but lacked the financial means without that free tuition.
Critically, that gig at Columbia paved the way for a job in Zurich where I encountered my handsome spouse from France, with whom I am raising four amazing children. It was a total sliding doors moment. That kind stranger redirected my path in life, and I’m always appreciative.
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