During the closing decade of the 80s, I was beginning a budget travel adventure to Europe with a friend. Since my friend was exploring starting a postgraduate program in NYC, we had booked a fortnight visit there en route to London.
We got to the student accommodation, a big ten-floor structure on the Manhattan's Upper West Side known as International House. Setting down our luggage, we made our way to the dining hall, where we grabbed food, took a seat, and started talking to fellow residents.
Adjacent to my seat was an individual of Iraqi origin studying engineering at Columbia University. He wanted to know what I did, and I told him that I had just graduated with a degree in science and had been performing experiments using an electron microscope.
He pointed out that there was an microscopy facility at the institution – right next door to the engineering department, which was why he was aware of it. He recommended that I consider applying for a role with them. I chuckled at the suggestion, saying that I was about to fly to Europe and, more critically, I lacked a US visa.
The next day I went out exploring, returning to the canteen that evening. The man from Iraq came up to me and informed me that he had set up a meeting for me with the director of the microscopy lab at Columbia. Because he had taken the effort, I went to the meeting – but immediately informed my interviewer that I lacked the necessary visa, so I was unable to accept the role.
In typical New York fashion – a metropolis where opportunities abound – she declared: “We can make that happen. What's your start date?” I missed my plane to London.
I was employed there for three years. A perk of the job was that I also received no-cost classes at Columbia, and I took advantage to finish a master’s of international affairs.
I never saw that student again and I can't recall his name, but his selfless gesture changed my life in so many ways. I lacked the bravery or nerve to reach out at an elite institution and ask for a job. Additionally, I had always wanted to study abroad, but could never have afforded it without that free tuition.
Critically, that job in New York paved the way for a job in Zurich where I encountered my beautiful French husband, with whom I now have four wonderful sons and daughters. That encounter altered everything. That helpful person redirected my path in life, and I’m forever grateful.
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