During the late 1980s, I was beginning a low-cost journey to the European continent with a travel partner. Because my travel mate was considering starting a postgraduate program in the Big Apple, we had planned a fortnight visit there en route to London.
We arrived at the postgrad residence, a sizeable ten-floor structure on the UWS known as International House. Setting down our luggage, we made our way to the cafeteria, where we got some food, sat down, and engaged in conversation with other diners.
Sitting next to me was an gentleman from Iraq enrolled in an engineering program at an Ivy League institution. He inquired what I did, and I shared that I had recently completed my studies with a scientific background and had been working on studies with electron microscopy.
He mentioned that there was an research lab at Columbia University – adjacent to the school of engineering, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He recommended that I consider applying for a position with them. I dismissed the idea, telling him that I was heading off to Europe and, more critically, I did not possess a US visa.
The next day I toured the city, coming back to the dining hall that after dark. The engineering student came up to me and let me know that he had arranged an interview for me with the director of the microscopy lab at Columbia. Given that he had gone to the trouble, I attended the interview – but straight off explained to my host that I didn’t have a visa, so I was likely not a suitable candidate.
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 three years. One of the benefits was that I got complimentary education at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to complete a master’s of international affairs.
I never saw that student again and I am unaware of his full name, but his selfless gesture transformed my future in numerous aspects. I didn't possess the courage or nerve to contact anyone at an elite institution and request employment. Moreover, I had always wanted to study abroad, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that educational benefit.
What's more, that role at the university led me to a job in Zurich where I got to know my beautiful French husband, with whom I now have four amazing children. That encounter altered everything. That kind stranger changed my trajectory in life, and I’m always appreciative.
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