In the final years of the 1980s, I was beginning a budget travel adventure to the European continent with a companion. Since my travel mate was considering pursuing a master’s degree in New York, we had arranged a two-week stay there en route to London.
We reached the postgrad residence, a large 10-storey building on the Manhattan's Upper West Side known as International House. Setting down our luggage, we made our way to the cafeteria, where we grabbed food, found a table, and started talking to people eating there.
Beside me was an Iraqi man studying engineering at Columbia University. He asked me what I did for a living, and I explained that I had just graduated with a science degree and had been conducting research involving microscopic analysis.
He mentioned that there was an microscopy facility at the university – close 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 lacked a US visa.
The following day I toured the city, going back to the cafeteria that after dark. The man from Iraq approached me and told me that he had set up a meeting for me with the leader of the research team at Columbia. Because he had gone to the trouble, I went to the meeting – but right away informed my prospective employer that I was without a work permit, so I was likely not a suitable candidate.
Reflecting the city's spirit – a place where opportunities abound – she declared: “We'll handle it. What's your start date?” I missed my plane to London.
I worked there for 36 months. A perk of the job was that I also received no-cost classes at Columbia, and I seized the chance to earn a postgrad program in international relations.
I never saw that student again and I don’t even know his full name, but his remarkable generosity changed my life in so many ways. I lacked the confidence or self-belief to contact anyone at an elite institution and request employment. Additionally, I had consistently hoped to take classes in another country, but could never have afforded it without that educational benefit.
What's more, that role at the university paved the way for a role in Europe where I got to know my handsome spouse from France, with whom I am raising a family of four kids. It was a total sliding doors moment. That helpful person set me on a different course in life, and I’m forever grateful.
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