In the late 1980s, I was beginning a budget travel adventure to Europe with a companion. Because my travel mate was considering starting a postgraduate program in New York, we had planned a two-week stay there en route to London.
We reached the graduate housing, a sizeable 10-storey building on the UWS known as International House. Setting down our luggage, we made our way to the cafeteria, where we picked up meals, found a table, and started talking to fellow residents.
Sitting next to me was an gentleman from Iraq studying engineering at a prestigious New York university. He wanted to know what I did, and I told him that I had recently completed my studies with a scientific background and had been conducting research using an electron microscope.
He mentioned that there was an microscopy facility at the institution – right next door to the engineering department, which was why he was aware of it. He suggested that I ought to seek a role with them. I chuckled at the suggestion, saying that I was heading off to Europe and, more critically, I did not possess a US visa.
The following day I toured the city, returning to the canteen that evening. The Iraqi student walked over to me and told me that he had set up a meeting for me with the head of the electron microscope unit at Columbia. Given that he had taken the effort, I showed up for the discussion – but straight off informed my interviewer that I didn’t have a visa, so I was probably wasting her time.
In typical New York fashion – a city where anything feels possible – she responded: “We'll handle it. How soon can you begin?” I missed my plane to London.
I worked there for a trio of years. One of the benefits was that I got free tuition at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to finish a graduate degree in global studies.
I lost touch with him and I don’t even know his name, but his incredible act of kindness altered my destiny in multiple respects. I lacked the confidence or self-belief to contact anyone at an prestigious college and request employment. Additionally, I had always wanted to study abroad, but lacked the financial means without that tuition waiver.
Critically, that role at the university led me to a role in Europe where I encountered my beautiful French husband, with whom I am raising four amazing children. It was a total sliding doors moment. That benevolent individual changed my trajectory in life, and I’m always appreciative.
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