In the final years of the 1980s, I set out on a backpacking trip to the European continent with a friend. Because my travel mate was considering pursuing a master’s degree in NYC, we had arranged a 14-day stopover there before heading to London.
We got to the student accommodation, a large multi-story edifice on the Manhattan's Upper West Side known as International House. Setting down our luggage, we went directly to the canteen, where we grabbed food, found a table, and began chatting with other diners.
Sitting next to me was an individual of Iraqi origin enrolled in an engineering program at a prestigious New York university. He inquired what I did, and I shared that I had just graduated with a scientific background and had been performing experiments with electron microscopy.
He noted that there was an microscopy facility at the institution – adjacent to the school of engineering, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He proposed that I ought to seek a role with them. I chuckled at the suggestion, telling him that I was soon departing to Europe and, additionally, I lacked a US visa.
A day later I ventured out, returning to the canteen that night. 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. Since he had made the arrangement, I showed up for the discussion – but right away explained to my interviewer that I lacked the necessary visa, so I was likely not a suitable candidate.
In typical New York fashion – a city where anything feels possible – she said: “We can make that happen. When can you start?” I missed my plane to London.
I held that position for three years. A perk of the job was that I got free tuition at Columbia, and I took advantage to complete a postgrad program in international relations.
I never saw that student again and I am unaware of his name, but his remarkable generosity altered my destiny in numerous aspects. I lacked the bravery or nerve to contact anyone at an prestigious college and request employment. Additionally, I had long dreamed to study abroad, but could never have afforded it without that educational benefit.
What's more, that role at the university led me to a role in Europe where I encountered my beautiful French husband, with whom I currently share a family of four kids. That encounter altered everything. That kind stranger changed my trajectory in life, and I’m always appreciative.
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