During the late 1980s, I was beginning a low-cost journey to Europe with a friend. Since my companion was exploring enrolling in graduate studies in the Big Apple, we had arranged a 14-day stopover there on the way to London.
We got to the student accommodation, a sizeable 10-storey building on the Upper West Side known as International House. Once we unpacked, we headed straight to the canteen, where we picked up meals, sat down, and began chatting with fellow residents.
Sitting next to me was an individual of Iraqi origin studying engineering at Columbia University. He asked me what I did, and I told him that I had just graduated with a scientific background and had been conducting research involving microscopic analysis.
He pointed out that there was an microscopy facility at the institution – right next door to the engineering department, which was how he knew about it. He proposed that I ought to seek a position with them. I dismissed the idea, saying that I was about to fly to Europe and, more critically, I lacked a US visa.
A day later I toured the city, returning to the canteen that night. The engineering student came up to me and informed me that he had set up a meeting for me with the leader of the research team at Columbia. Because he had taken the effort, I went to the meeting – but straight off explained to my host that I lacked the necessary visa, so I was probably wasting her time.
In typical New York fashion – a metropolis where everything seems achievable – she responded: “We can make that happen. How soon can you begin?” I missed my plane to London.
I was employed there for a trio of years. A perk of the job was that I also received no-cost classes at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to complete a master’s of international affairs.
I lost touch with him and I don’t even know his identity, but his incredible act of kindness changed my life in so many ways. I didn't possess the bravery or nerve to reach out at an prestigious college and request employment. Additionally, I had consistently hoped to study abroad, but could never have afforded it without that tuition waiver.
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 now have four amazing children. It was a total sliding doors moment. That benevolent individual set me on a different course in life, and I’m always appreciative.
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