In the closing decade of the 80s, I was embarking on a budget travel adventure to the European continent with a friend. Because my friend was interested in enrolling in graduate studies in NYC, we had arranged a fortnight visit there on the way to London.
We got to the graduate housing, a big multi-story edifice on the Upper West Side known as International House. Once we unpacked, we made our way to the canteen, where we picked up meals, took a seat, and engaged in conversation with other diners.
Beside me was an Iraqi man enrolled in an engineering program at a prestigious New York university. He inquired what I did, and I explained that I had newly finished with a science degree and had been working on studies using an electron microscope.
He noted that there was an microscopy facility at the institution – right next door to the school of engineering, which was why he was aware of 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, even more importantly, I did not possess a US visa.
A day later I toured the city, going back to the cafeteria that after dark. The Iraqi student approached me and informed me that he had arranged an interview for me with the head of the electron microscope unit at Columbia. Since he had made the arrangement, I went to the meeting – but immediately told my prospective employer that I didn’t have a visa, so I was probably wasting her time.
In typical New York fashion – a metropolis where opportunities abound – she responded: “That can be arranged. How soon can you begin?” I missed my plane to London.
I worked there for three years. One of the benefits was that I was granted no-cost classes at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to earn a postgrad program in international relations.
We didn't cross paths after that and I can't recall his full name, but his incredible act of kindness transformed my future in so many ways. I didn't possess the confidence or self-assurance to reach out at an Ivy League university and ask for a job. Additionally, I had long dreamed to take classes in another country, but could never have afforded it without that tuition waiver.
Perhaps most importantly, that gig at Columbia led me to a job in Zurich where I got to know my wonderful partner, with whom I now have four amazing children. This was a pivotal life event. That kind stranger set me on a different course in life, and I’m always appreciative.
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