In the final years of the 1980s, I set out on a backpacking trip to the European continent with a companion. Because my companion was considering pursuing a master’s degree in the Big Apple, we had planned a two-week stay there on the way to London.
We reached the postgrad residence, a sizeable ten-floor structure on the Manhattan's Upper West Side named International House. Setting down our luggage, we made our way to the dining hall, where we picked up meals, found a table, and started talking to people eating there.
Sitting next to me was an gentleman from Iraq pursuing an engineering degree at Columbia University. He wanted to know what I did, and I shared that I had recently completed my studies with a scientific background and had been conducting research involving microscopic analysis.
He pointed out that there was an research lab at Columbia University – close to the school of engineering, which was how he knew about it. He proposed that I ought to seek a position with them. I dismissed the idea, telling him that I was soon departing to Europe and, additionally, I lacked a US visa.
The following day I went out exploring, returning to the canteen that after dark. The engineering student came up to me and told me that he had set up a meeting for me with the head of the electron microscope unit at Columbia. Because he had taken the effort, I showed up for the discussion – but straight off told my interviewer that I was without a work permit, so I was unable to accept the role.
In typical New York fashion – a metropolis where opportunities abound – she said: “That can be arranged. When can you start?” I missed my plane to London.
I held that position for 36 months. A perk of the job was that I was granted complimentary education at Columbia, and I seized the chance to complete a postgrad program in international relations.
I lost touch with him and I am unaware of his identity, but his incredible act of kindness transformed my future in multiple respects. I didn't possess the confidence or self-belief to reach out at an Ivy League university and seek a position. And, I had consistently hoped to take classes in another country, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that free tuition.
Critically, that role at the university resulted in a job in Zurich where I encountered my beautiful French husband, with whom I am raising four wonderful sons and daughters. That encounter altered everything. That benevolent individual redirected my path in life, and I’m always appreciative.
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