In the final years of the 1980s, I set out on a budget travel adventure to the European continent with a friend. Because my companion was interested in starting a postgraduate program in NYC, we had booked a two-week stay there before heading to London.
We arrived at the postgrad residence, a large 10-storey building on the UWS called International House. After dropping our bags, we made our way to the canteen, where we picked up meals, found a table, and began chatting with fellow residents.
Sitting next to me was an Iraqi man pursuing an engineering degree at Columbia University. He wanted to know what I did, and I explained that I had newly finished with a degree in science and had been conducting research using an electron microscope.
He mentioned that there was an research lab at Columbia University – close to the engineering faculty, which was how he knew about it. He suggested that I consider applying for a position with them. I dismissed the idea, saying that I was about to fly to Europe and, even more importantly, I didn’t have a US visa.
A day later I toured the city, going back to the cafeteria that evening. The man from Iraq approached me and told me that he had arranged an interview for me with the director of the microscopy lab at Columbia. Since he had taken the effort, I showed up for the discussion – but straight off told my host that I lacked the necessary visa, so I was probably wasting her time.
In typical New York fashion – a metropolis where anything feels possible – she declared: “We can make that happen. When can you start?” I missed my plane to London.
I worked there for a trio of years. An advantage of the role was that I also received no-cost classes at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to complete a graduate degree in global studies.
I lost touch with him and I don’t even know his full name, but his incredible act of kindness transformed my future in numerous aspects. I would never have had the confidence or nerve to contact anyone at an Ivy League university and seek a position. Moreover, I had always wanted to take classes in another country, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that free tuition.
Perhaps most importantly, that gig at Columbia resulted in a role in Europe where I got to know my beautiful French husband, with whom I now have a family of four kids. It was a total sliding doors moment. That benevolent individual redirected my path in life, and I’m forever grateful.
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