In the late 1980s, I set out on a budget travel adventure to Europe with a companion. Because my travel mate was interested in pursuing a master’s degree in NYC, we had arranged a two-week stay there on the way to London.
We got to the graduate housing, a big 10-storey building on the Manhattan's Upper West Side called International House. Setting down our luggage, we made our way to the dining hall, where we picked up meals, sat down, and started talking to fellow residents.
Beside me was an individual of Iraqi origin enrolled in an engineering program at an Ivy League institution. He wanted to know what I my profession was, and I told him that I had recently completed my studies with a scientific background and had been working on studies with electron microscopy.
He noted that there was an electron microscope unit at Columbia University – right next door to the engineering faculty, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He recommended that I should apply for a position with them. I dismissed the idea, telling him that I was soon departing to Europe and, additionally, I lacked a US visa.
A day later I ventured out, returning to the canteen that night. The man from Iraq walked over to me and let me know that he had arranged an interview for me with the director of the microscopy lab at Columbia. Since he had made the arrangement, I attended the interview – but right away explained to my prospective employer that I didn’t have a visa, so I was unable to accept the role.
As is common in NYC – a metropolis where anything feels possible – she declared: “That can be arranged. When can you start?” I missed my plane to London.
I worked there for three years. A perk of the job was that I was granted complimentary education at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to earn a postgrad program in international relations.
I never saw that student again and I can't recall his full name, but his selfless gesture changed my life in so many ways. I lacked the bravery or self-belief to contact anyone at an prestigious college and seek a position. Additionally, I had long dreamed to pursue education overseas, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that free tuition.
Critically, that role at the university paved the way for a position in Switzerland where I encountered my beautiful French husband, with whom I am raising four amazing children. It was a total sliding doors moment. That helpful person changed my trajectory in life, and I’m forever grateful.
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