In the final years of the 1980s, I set out on a budget travel adventure to the European continent with a friend. Since my travel mate was considering starting a postgraduate program in the Big Apple, we had booked a two-week stay there en route to London.
We got to the student accommodation, a big ten-floor structure on the UWS named International House. After dropping our bags, we went directly to the cafeteria, where we grabbed food, found a table, and engaged in conversation with people eating there.
Sitting next to me was an Iraqi man pursuing an engineering degree at a prestigious New York university. He wanted to know what I my profession was, and I told him that I had newly finished with a scientific background and had been performing experiments using an electron microscope.
He mentioned that there was an electron microscope unit at the university – close to the school of engineering, which was how he knew about it. He suggested that I should apply for a job with them. I laughed it off, telling him that I was soon departing to Europe and, more critically, I didn’t have a US visa.
The following day I toured the city, going back to the cafeteria that night. The engineering student walked over to me and let me know that he had arranged an interview for me with the head of the electron microscope unit at Columbia. Since he had gone to the trouble, I attended the interview – but immediately explained to my interviewer that I didn’t have a visa, so I was probably wasting her time.
In typical New York fashion – a place where everything seems achievable – she said: “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. An advantage of the role was that I was granted free tuition at Columbia, and I took advantage to finish a graduate degree in global studies.
I never saw that student again and I don’t even know his full name, but his incredible act of kindness altered my destiny in multiple respects. I didn't possess the courage or self-assurance to contact anyone at an prestigious college and ask for a job. And, I had always wanted to study abroad, but lacked the financial means without that free tuition.
Perhaps most importantly, that role at the university led me to a role in Europe where I got to know my beautiful French husband, with whom I now have four amazing children. It was a total sliding doors moment. That helpful person changed my trajectory in life, and I’m always appreciative.
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