During the late 1980s, I was embarking on a backpacking trip to the European continent with a friend. Since my travel mate was considering starting a postgraduate program in New York, we had booked a two-week stay there on the way to London.
We arrived at the student accommodation, a large ten-floor structure on the UWS named International House. After dropping our bags, we made our way to the dining hall, where we picked up meals, sat down, and engaged in conversation with people eating there.
Adjacent to my seat was an gentleman from Iraq enrolled in an engineering program at Columbia University. He asked me what I did, and I shared that I had recently completed my studies with a scientific background and had been conducting research with electron microscopy.
He mentioned that there was an research lab at the university – close to the engineering faculty, which was how he knew about it. He proposed that I ought to seek a position with them. I chuckled at the suggestion, telling him that I was about to fly to Europe and, even more importantly, I didn’t have a US visa.
The next day I went out exploring, returning to the canteen that night. The engineering student approached me and informed me that he had set up a meeting for me with the leader of the research team at Columbia. Given that he had taken the effort, I went to the meeting – but straight off explained to my interviewer that I was without a work permit, so I was likely not a suitable candidate.
Reflecting the city's spirit – a place where anything feels possible – she responded: “That can be arranged. When can you start?” 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 complimentary education at Columbia, and I seized the chance to earn a graduate degree in global studies.
I lost touch with him and I can't recall his identity, but his selfless gesture altered my destiny in multiple respects. I lacked the courage or nerve to contact anyone at an prestigious college and ask for a job. Additionally, I had consistently hoped to pursue education overseas, but could never have afforded it without that tuition waiver.
Critically, that job in New York resulted in a position in Switzerland where I got to know my beautiful French husband, with whom I am raising four amazing children. That encounter altered everything. That kind stranger set me on a different course in life, and I’m always appreciative.
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