During the late 1980s, I was beginning a budget travel adventure to Europe with a companion. Since my travel mate was interested in starting a postgraduate program in New York, we had booked a fortnight visit there en route to London.
We got to the postgrad residence, a large multi-story edifice on the UWS called International House. Setting down our luggage, we headed straight to the cafeteria, where we picked up meals, took a seat, and started talking to fellow residents.
Sitting next to me was an individual of Iraqi origin studying engineering at an Ivy League institution. He asked me what I did for a living, and I told him that I had recently completed my studies with a degree in science and had been performing experiments involving microscopic analysis.
He mentioned that there was an microscopy facility at Columbia University – right next door to the school of engineering, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He proposed that I ought to seek a position with them. I laughed it off, saying that I was soon departing to Europe and, more critically, I did not possess a US visa.
A day later I toured the city, returning to the canteen that after dark. The engineering student came up to me and informed me that he had set up a meeting for me with the leader of the research team at Columbia. Because he had taken the effort, I attended the interview – but right away told my prospective employer that I didn’t have a visa, so I was probably wasting her time.
As is common in NYC – a place where everything seems achievable – she said: “We'll handle it. When can you start?” I missed my plane to London.
I worked there for a trio of years. A perk of the job was that I got no-cost classes at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to complete a postgrad program in international relations.
I lost touch with him and I can't recall his full name, but his selfless gesture transformed my future in multiple respects. I lacked the courage or nerve to approach someone at an elite institution and seek a position. Moreover, I had long dreamed to take classes in another country, but could never have afforded it without that educational benefit.
Critically, that role at the university paved the way for a job in Zurich where I met my handsome spouse from France, 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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