During the final years of the 1980s, I set out on a budget travel adventure to Europe with a friend. Because my travel mate was interested in starting a postgraduate program in New York, we had arranged a two-week stay there en route to London.
We arrived at the student accommodation, a large ten-floor structure on the Manhattan's Upper West Side named International House. Once we unpacked, we made our way to the dining hall, where we picked up meals, found a table, and engaged in conversation with fellow residents.
Adjacent to my seat was an Iraqi man enrolled in an engineering program at an Ivy League institution. He asked me what I did, and I told him that I had just graduated with a science degree 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 suggested that I consider applying for a role with them. I laughed it off, telling him that I was heading off to Europe and, additionally, I lacked a US visa.
The next day I toured the city, coming back to the dining hall that after dark. The engineering student walked over to me and told me that he had arranged an interview 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 lacked the necessary visa, so I was probably wasting her time.
As is common in NYC – a place where opportunities abound – she responded: “We can make that happen. When can you start?” I never got on that flight to London.
I was employed there for a trio of years. An advantage of the role was that I also received complimentary education at Columbia, and I took advantage to finish a master’s of international affairs.
We didn't cross paths after that and I am unaware of his identity, but his selfless gesture transformed my future in multiple respects. I didn't possess the courage or self-assurance to approach someone at an prestigious college and ask for a job. Moreover, I had long dreamed to study abroad, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that tuition waiver.
What's more, that job in New York resulted in a role in Europe where I got to know my beautiful French husband, with whom I now have four wonderful sons and daughters. It was a total sliding doors moment. That kind stranger changed my trajectory in life, and I’m always appreciative.
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