In the final years of the 1980s, I set out on a backpacking trip to the European continent with a friend. Since my friend was exploring pursuing a master’s degree in the Big Apple, we had arranged a two-week stay there before heading to London.
We reached the graduate housing, a large ten-floor structure on the Upper West Side named International House. Setting down our luggage, we headed straight to the canteen, where we got some food, sat down, and began chatting with people eating there.
Sitting next to me was an Iraqi man pursuing an engineering degree at an Ivy League institution. He inquired what I did, and I shared that I had recently completed my studies with a degree in science and had been conducting research with electron microscopy.
He noted that there was an microscopy facility at Columbia University – right next door to the engineering department, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He suggested that I ought to seek a job with them. I chuckled at the suggestion, explaining that I was soon departing to Europe and, more critically, I lacked a US visa.
The following day I ventured out, coming back to the dining hall that night. The Iraqi student approached me and informed me that he had set up a meeting for me with the director of the microscopy lab at Columbia. Since he had made the arrangement, I went to the meeting – but straight off explained to my host that I was without a work permit, so I was unable to accept the role.
Reflecting the city's spirit – a place where everything seems achievable – she declared: “We'll handle it. How soon can you begin?” I didn't board the aircraft to London.
I worked there for three years. A perk of the job was that I also received free tuition at Columbia, and I seized the chance to earn a master’s of international affairs.
I never saw that student again and I don’t even know his identity, but his selfless gesture altered my destiny in numerous aspects. I lacked the confidence or self-assurance to contact anyone at an elite institution and ask for a job. Moreover, I had consistently hoped to pursue education overseas, but could never have afforded it without that free tuition.
Critically, that role at the university resulted in a position in Switzerland where I got to know my handsome spouse from France, with whom I am raising four wonderful sons and daughters. It was a total sliding doors moment. That kind stranger changed my trajectory in life, and I’m always appreciative.
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