During the final years of the 1980s, I set out on a low-cost journey to the European continent with a travel partner. Because my friend was interested in starting a postgraduate program in New York, we had arranged a 14-day stopover there en route to London.
We reached the student accommodation, a sizeable 10-storey building on the Manhattan's Upper West Side named International House. After dropping our bags, we headed straight to the cafeteria, where we got some food, sat down, and engaged in conversation with people eating there.
Adjacent to my seat was an Iraqi man studying engineering at Columbia University. He asked me what I my profession was, and I shared that I had recently completed my studies with a degree in science and had been conducting research involving microscopic analysis.
He noted that there was an research lab at the university – close to the school of engineering, which was how he knew about it. He recommended that I should apply for a role with them. I laughed it off, saying that I was heading off to Europe and, even more importantly, I lacked a US visa.
The following day I went out exploring, coming back to the dining hall that after dark. The engineering student walked over to me and let me know that he had organized a discussion for me with the head of the electron microscope unit at Columbia. Because he had taken the effort, I showed up for the discussion – but immediately explained to my host that I lacked the necessary visa, so I was unable to accept the role.
As is common in NYC – a place where anything feels possible – she responded: “We can make that happen. What's your start date?” I never got on that flight to London.
I held that position for a trio of years. One of the benefits was that I got complimentary education at Columbia, and I took advantage to earn a postgrad program in international relations.
I never saw that student again and I can't recall his full name, but his selfless gesture transformed my future in so many ways. I lacked the confidence or self-assurance to approach someone at an elite institution and request employment. Additionally, I had long dreamed to take classes in another country, but lacked the financial means without that educational benefit.
Perhaps most importantly, that job in New York resulted in a job in Zurich where I got to know my beautiful French husband, with whom I currently share four wonderful sons and daughters. That encounter altered everything. That kind stranger changed my trajectory in life, and I’m eternally thankful.
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