During the closing decade of the 80s, I was beginning a budget travel adventure to the European continent with a travel partner. Since my travel mate was exploring starting a postgraduate program in the Big Apple, we had planned a 14-day stopover there en route to London.
We got to the student accommodation, a large multi-story edifice on the Manhattan's Upper West Side known as International House. Setting down our luggage, we headed straight to the cafeteria, where we grabbed food, sat down, and started talking to fellow residents.
Beside me was an Iraqi man pursuing an engineering degree at an Ivy League institution. He inquired what I did for a living, and I shared that I had just graduated with a scientific background and had been conducting research using an electron microscope.
He mentioned that there was an microscopy facility at the university – right next door to the school of engineering, which was how he knew about it. He suggested that I should apply for a job with them. I chuckled at the suggestion, explaining that I was about to fly to Europe and, more critically, I didn’t have a US visa.
A day later I ventured out, returning to the canteen that evening. The man from Iraq walked over to me and told me that he had set up a meeting for me with the leader of the research team at Columbia. Since he had taken the effort, I went to the meeting – but straight off informed my host that I didn’t have a visa, so I was likely not a suitable candidate.
Reflecting the city's spirit – 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 worked there for 36 months. One of the benefits was that I got complimentary education at Columbia, and I took advantage to earn a graduate degree in global studies.
I never saw that student again and I can't recall his name, but his incredible act of kindness changed my life in multiple respects. I didn't possess the courage or nerve to approach someone at an prestigious college and ask for a job. Moreover, I had consistently hoped to study abroad, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that educational benefit.
What's more, that job in New York resulted in a role in Europe where I encountered my beautiful French husband, with whom I am raising four wonderful sons and daughters. That encounter altered everything. That kind stranger redirected my path in life, and I’m eternally thankful.
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