In the late 1980s, I set out on a budget travel adventure to Europe with a travel partner. Because my travel mate was exploring pursuing a master’s degree in NYC, we had planned a two-week stay there en route to London.
We got to the postgrad residence, a sizeable 10-storey building on the UWS known as International House. Once we unpacked, we went directly to the canteen, where we picked up meals, sat down, and engaged in conversation with fellow residents.
Sitting next to me was an Iraqi man enrolled in an engineering program at an Ivy League institution. He asked me what I did, and I shared that I had newly finished with a degree in science and had been working on studies involving microscopic analysis.
He pointed out that there was an microscopy facility at Columbia University – adjacent to the engineering faculty, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He suggested that I should apply for a position with them. I laughed it off, telling him that I was soon departing to Europe and, additionally, I didn’t have a US visa.
A day later I toured the city, returning to the canteen that night. The man from Iraq approached me and informed me that he had organized a discussion for me with the head of the electron microscope unit at Columbia. Because he had gone to the trouble, I attended the interview – but straight off informed my interviewer that I was without a work permit, so I was unable to accept the role.
Reflecting the city's spirit – a place where opportunities abound – she said: “That can be arranged. How soon can you begin?” I missed my plane to London.
I was employed there for 36 months. A perk of the job was that I got free tuition at Columbia, and I took advantage to finish a postgrad program in international relations.
I lost touch with him and I am unaware of his identity, but his incredible act of kindness altered my destiny in multiple respects. I didn't possess the confidence or self-assurance to reach out at an prestigious college and ask for a job. And, I had always wanted to take classes in another country, but could never have afforded it without that educational benefit.
Critically, that job in New York resulted in a role in Europe where I met my beautiful French husband, with whom I am raising a family of four kids. It was a total sliding doors moment. That benevolent individual redirected my path in life, and I’m forever grateful.
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