During the closing decade of the 80s, I set out on a low-cost journey to Europe with a friend. Because my friend was considering starting a postgraduate program in the Big Apple, we had planned a fortnight visit there en route to London.
We got to the graduate housing, a sizeable 10-storey building on the Upper West Side named International House. Setting down our luggage, we headed straight to the dining hall, where we grabbed food, took a seat, and started talking to people eating there.
Sitting next to me was an individual of Iraqi origin enrolled in an engineering program at a prestigious New York university. He wanted to know what I my profession was, and I shared that I had just graduated with a scientific background and had been working on studies involving microscopic analysis.
He pointed out that there was an electron microscope unit at Columbia University – right next door to the engineering faculty, which was why he was aware of it. He proposed that I consider applying for a position with them. I dismissed the idea, telling him that I was heading off to Europe and, more critically, I lacked a US visa.
The next day I went out exploring, returning to the canteen that evening. The Iraqi student walked over to me and let me know that he had set up a meeting for me with the director of the microscopy lab at Columbia. Given that he had made the arrangement, I showed up for the discussion – but right away explained to my interviewer that I didn’t have a visa, so I was unable to accept the role.
In typical New York fashion – a metropolis where everything seems achievable – she said: “That can be arranged. What's your start date?” I didn't board the aircraft to London.
I worked there for a trio of years. A perk of the job was that I got free tuition at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to finish a graduate degree in global studies.
I lost touch with him and I don’t even know his name, but his remarkable generosity altered my destiny in multiple respects. I would never have had the bravery or nerve to reach out at an elite institution and ask for a job. And, I had consistently hoped to take classes in another country, but lacked the financial means without that educational benefit.
Perhaps most importantly, that job in New York paved the way for a position in Switzerland where I encountered my beautiful French husband, with whom I am raising a family of four kids. It was a total sliding doors moment. That kind stranger set me on a different course in life, and I’m always appreciative.
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