During the closing decade of the 80s, I was beginning a budget travel adventure to Europe with a companion. Because my companion was considering pursuing a master’s degree in NYC, we had booked a 14-day stopover there before heading to London.
We arrived at the graduate housing, a sizeable 10-storey building on the Manhattan's Upper West Side called International House. Setting down our luggage, we made our way to the dining hall, where we grabbed food, found a table, and engaged in conversation with people eating there.
Adjacent to my seat was an Iraqi man enrolled in an engineering program at an Ivy League institution. He inquired what I my profession was, and I told him that I had recently completed my studies with a degree in science and had been working on studies involving microscopic analysis.
He pointed out that there was an electron microscope unit at the university – close to the engineering department, which was how he knew about it. He proposed that I should apply for a position with them. I laughed it off, saying that I was heading off to Europe and, more critically, I didn’t have a US visa.
The next day I went out exploring, returning to the canteen that evening. The Iraqi student walked over to me and told me that he had arranged an interview for me with the director of the microscopy lab at Columbia. Given that he had gone to the trouble, I went to the meeting – but straight off told my interviewer that I lacked the necessary visa, so I was unable to accept the role.
As is common in NYC – a city where opportunities abound – she responded: “We can make that happen. How soon can you begin?” I missed my plane to London.
I was employed there for 36 months. One of the benefits was that I was granted free tuition at Columbia, and I took advantage to finish a postgrad program in international relations.
I never saw that student again and I can't recall his identity, but his incredible act of kindness changed my life in numerous aspects. I lacked the bravery or self-assurance to reach out at an elite institution and ask for a job. And, I had long dreamed to pursue education overseas, but could never have afforded it without that tuition waiver.
Critically, that role at the university led me to a position in Switzerland where I got to know my beautiful French husband, with whom I now have a family of four kids. It was a total sliding doors moment. That helpful person redirected my path in life, and I’m eternally thankful.
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