In the closing decade of the 80s, I was embarking on a backpacking trip to Europe with a companion. Since my friend was exploring starting a postgraduate program in New York, we had planned a two-week stay there en route to London.
We arrived at the graduate housing, a sizeable multi-story edifice on the Upper West Side known as International House. Once we unpacked, we headed straight to the dining hall, where we got some food, sat down, and engaged in conversation with people eating there.
Beside me was an Iraqi man pursuing an engineering degree at a prestigious New York university. He asked me what I my profession was, and I told him that I had newly finished with a degree in science and had been performing experiments involving microscopic analysis.
He noted that there was an electron microscope unit at the university – right next door to the school of engineering, which was how he knew about it. He recommended that I ought to seek a position with them. I dismissed the idea, explaining that I was soon departing to Europe and, more critically, I lacked a US visa.
The following day I toured the city, coming back to the dining hall that night. The Iraqi student came up to me and told me that he had arranged an interview for me with the director of the microscopy lab at Columbia. Because he had gone to the trouble, I attended the interview – but right away explained to my prospective employer that I was without a work permit, so I was unable to accept the role.
In typical New York fashion – a metropolis where anything feels possible – she said: “We can make that happen. How soon can you begin?” I missed my plane to London.
I worked there for three years. An advantage of the role was that I was granted complimentary education at Columbia, and I took advantage to finish 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 so many ways. I would never have had the bravery or nerve to reach out at an elite institution and seek a position. And, I had always wanted to take classes in another country, but lacked the financial means without that free tuition.
Perhaps most importantly, that job in New York led me to a position in Switzerland where I got to know my beautiful French husband, with whom I currently share four amazing children. This was a pivotal life event. That kind stranger redirected my path in life, and I’m always appreciative.
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