During the late 1980s, I was embarking on a budget travel adventure to Europe with a companion. Since my friend was exploring pursuing a master’s degree in the Big Apple, we had planned a 14-day stopover there on the way to London.
We got to the graduate housing, a large ten-floor structure on the 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 began chatting with people eating there.
Sitting next to me was an Iraqi man enrolled in an engineering program at an Ivy League institution. He inquired what I did for a living, and I told him that I had just graduated with a scientific background and had been working on studies using an electron microscope.
He mentioned that there was an electron microscope unit at the university – close to the engineering department, which was why he was aware of it. He proposed that I ought to seek a role with them. I chuckled at the suggestion, telling him that I was about to fly to Europe and, additionally, I didn’t have a US visa.
The next day I went out exploring, coming back to the dining hall that night. The engineering student came up to me and informed me that he had set up a meeting for me with the head of the electron microscope unit at Columbia. Since he had taken the effort, I attended the interview – but straight off informed my host that I didn’t have a visa, so I was likely not a suitable candidate.
In typical New York fashion – a place where anything feels possible – she responded: “We can make that happen. How soon can you begin?” I didn't board the aircraft to London.
I held that position for three years. A perk of the job was that I was granted complimentary education at Columbia, and I took advantage to complete a graduate degree in global studies.
We didn't cross paths after that and I am unaware of his identity, but his selfless gesture changed my life in multiple respects. I lacked the bravery or self-assurance to contact anyone at an elite institution and request employment. Additionally, I had always wanted to study abroad, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that educational benefit.
Critically, that role at the university resulted in a position in Switzerland 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 helpful person redirected my path in life, and I’m always appreciative.
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