In the final years of the 1980s, I set out on a low-cost journey to the European continent with a travel partner. Because my friend was interested in starting a postgraduate program in New York, we had arranged a fortnight visit there before heading to London.
We got to the postgrad residence, a sizeable ten-floor structure on the Manhattan's Upper West Side known as International House. Once we unpacked, we made our way to the dining hall, where we got some food, sat down, and started talking to people eating there.
Sitting next to me was an Iraqi man pursuing an engineering degree at an Ivy League institution. He inquired what I did for a living, and I explained that I had just graduated with a scientific background and had been performing experiments using an electron microscope.
He pointed out that there was an electron microscope unit at Columbia University – adjacent to the school of engineering, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He recommended that I ought to seek a role with them. I chuckled at the suggestion, explaining that I was soon departing to Europe and, additionally, I did not possess a US visa.
The following day I toured the city, returning to the canteen that evening. The man from Iraq walked over to me and let me know that he had arranged an interview for me with the head of the electron microscope unit at Columbia. Since he had taken the effort, I attended the interview – but right away informed my interviewer that I was without a work permit, so I was probably wasting her time.
Reflecting the city's spirit – a place where opportunities abound – she responded: “That can be arranged. When can you start?” I didn't board the aircraft to London.
I held that position for 36 months. One of the benefits was that I was granted free tuition at Columbia, and I seized the chance to earn a master’s of international affairs.
I lost touch with him and I don’t even know his identity, but his selfless gesture changed my life in numerous aspects. I lacked the confidence or self-belief to contact anyone at an Ivy League university and seek a position. Additionally, I had long dreamed to take classes in another country, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that educational benefit.
Perhaps most importantly, that role at the university paved the way for a position in Switzerland where I got to know my beautiful French husband, with whom I now have four wonderful sons and daughters. This was a pivotal life event. That kind stranger redirected my path in life, and I’m always appreciative.
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