In the final years of the 1980s, I set out on a backpacking trip to Europe with a travel partner. Because my friend was interested in starting a postgraduate program in NYC, we had planned a 14-day stopover there on the way to London.
We arrived at the postgrad residence, a large ten-floor structure on the Manhattan's Upper West Side called International House. After dropping our bags, we went directly to the cafeteria, where we got some food, took a seat, and started talking to people eating there.
Adjacent to my seat was an gentleman from Iraq enrolled in an engineering program at a prestigious New York university. He wanted to know what I my profession was, and I explained that I had newly finished with a scientific background and had been performing experiments using an electron microscope.
He pointed out that there was an microscopy facility at Columbia University – adjacent to the engineering department, which was why he was aware of it. He suggested that I ought to seek a role with them. I laughed it off, telling him that I was about to fly to Europe and, even more importantly, I did not possess a US visa.
The next day I went out exploring, coming back to the dining hall that night. The Iraqi student approached me and told me that he had set up a meeting for me with the leader of the research team at Columbia. Because he had made the arrangement, I went to the meeting – but right away told my prospective employer that I was without a work permit, so I was unable to accept the role.
In typical New York fashion – a place where opportunities abound – she responded: “That can be arranged. How soon can you begin?” I never got on that flight to London.
I worked there for 36 months. One of the benefits was that I got no-cost classes at Columbia, and I took advantage to finish a graduate degree in global studies.
We didn't cross paths after that and I am unaware of his identity, but his remarkable generosity changed my life in numerous aspects. I didn't possess the courage or self-assurance to contact anyone at an Ivy League university and seek a position. And, I had long dreamed to pursue education overseas, but lacked the financial means without that tuition waiver.
Critically, that role at the university led me to a position in Switzerland where I got to know my handsome spouse from France, with whom I now have four amazing children. It was a total sliding doors moment. That helpful person redirected my path in life, and I’m always appreciative.
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