In the closing decade of the 80s, I was embarking on a backpacking trip to the European continent with a friend. Since my companion was interested in enrolling in graduate studies in NYC, we had planned a two-week stay there en route to London.
We got to the student accommodation, a large ten-floor structure on the Manhattan's Upper West Side named International House. After dropping our bags, we made our way to the cafeteria, where we got some food, took a seat, and engaged in conversation with people eating there.
Beside me was an Iraqi man enrolled in an engineering program at an Ivy League institution. He wanted to know what I did, and I told him that I had recently completed my studies with a science degree and had been working on studies with electron microscopy.
He noted that there was an electron microscope unit at Columbia University – adjacent to the engineering department, which was how he knew about it. He suggested that I ought to seek a job with them. I dismissed the idea, saying that I was heading off to Europe and, more critically, I did not possess a US visa.
The next day I toured the city, coming back to the dining hall that night. The man from Iraq came up to me and let me know that he had organized a discussion for me with the head of the electron microscope unit at Columbia. Given that he had gone to the trouble, I went to the meeting – but immediately told my host that I lacked the necessary visa, so I was probably wasting her time.
In typical New York fashion – a place where opportunities abound – she declared: “We'll handle it. When can you start?” I missed my plane to London.
I was employed there for three years. An advantage of the role was that I was granted complimentary education at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to complete a postgrad program in international relations.
We didn't cross paths after that and I don’t even know his name, but his selfless gesture changed my life in so many ways. I didn't possess the bravery or self-assurance to approach someone at an Ivy League university and request employment. Moreover, I had always wanted to take classes in another country, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that tuition waiver.
Perhaps most importantly, that role at the university resulted in a role in Europe where I met my beautiful French husband, with whom I now have four amazing children. This was a pivotal life event. That kind stranger redirected my path in life, and I’m forever grateful.
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