In the final years of the 1980s, I was beginning a budget travel adventure to the European continent with a companion. Since my companion was interested in pursuing a master’s degree in NYC, we had arranged a two-week stay there before heading to London.
We got to the student accommodation, a big ten-floor structure on the UWS known as International House. Once we unpacked, we made our way to the dining hall, where we got some food, took a seat, and started talking to fellow residents.
Adjacent to my seat was an individual of Iraqi origin enrolled in an engineering program at a prestigious New York university. He asked me what I my profession was, and I told him that I had newly finished with a scientific background and had been conducting research involving microscopic analysis.
He pointed out that there was an microscopy facility at the university – adjacent to the engineering department, which was why he was aware of it. He proposed that I ought to seek a position with them. I dismissed the idea, saying that I was soon departing to Europe and, more critically, I lacked a US visa.
A day later I went out exploring, coming back to the dining hall that after dark. The man from Iraq walked over to me and told me that he had organized a discussion for me with the head of the electron microscope unit at Columbia. Because he had taken the effort, I showed up for the discussion – but straight off informed my host that I lacked the necessary visa, so I was unable to accept the role.
As is common in NYC – a metropolis where anything feels possible – she declared: “We'll handle it. What's your start date?” I never got on that flight to London.
I worked there for a trio of years. An advantage of the role was that I was granted no-cost classes at Columbia, and I seized the chance to finish a master’s of international affairs.
I never saw that student again and I can't recall his name, but his incredible act of kindness changed my life in so many ways. I would never have had the confidence or self-assurance to contact anyone at an elite institution and ask for a job. Moreover, I had long dreamed to take classes in another country, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that free tuition.
Perhaps most importantly, that job in New York resulted in a role in Europe where I encountered my handsome spouse from France, with whom I am raising four amazing children. It was a total sliding doors moment. That helpful person changed my trajectory in life, and I’m forever grateful.
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