In the closing decade of the 80s, I was beginning a low-cost journey to the European continent with a companion. Since my travel mate was exploring enrolling in graduate studies in New York, we had planned a two-week stay there on the way to London.
We got to the postgrad residence, a large 10-storey building on the Upper West Side called International House. Once we unpacked, we made our way to the dining hall, where we got some food, found a table, and began chatting with 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 did, and I told him that I had newly finished with a scientific background and had been performing experiments with electron microscopy.
He noted that there was an research lab at the university – close to the school of engineering, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He proposed that I should apply for a job with them. I chuckled at the suggestion, explaining that I was heading off to Europe and, more critically, I didn’t have a US visa.
The next day I ventured out, coming back to the dining hall that evening. The engineering student approached me and told me that he had set up a meeting for me with the director of the microscopy lab at Columbia. Given that he had made the arrangement, I attended the interview – but straight off informed my host that I lacked the necessary visa, so I was unable to accept the role.
In typical New York fashion – a metropolis where everything seems achievable – she said: “We can make that happen. When can you start?” I missed my plane to London.
I worked there for a trio of years. A perk of the job was that I was granted complimentary education at Columbia, and I took advantage to complete a master’s of international affairs.
We didn't cross paths after that and I am unaware of his name, but his incredible act of kindness changed my life in multiple respects. I didn't possess the bravery or self-assurance to approach someone at an Ivy League university and ask for a job. Moreover, I had long dreamed to study abroad, but lacked the financial means without that tuition waiver.
Perhaps most importantly, that role at the university resulted in a position in Switzerland where I got to know my beautiful French husband, with whom I now have a family of four kids. It was a total sliding doors moment. That kind stranger redirected my path in life, and I’m eternally thankful.
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