During the final years of the 1980s, I was embarking on a low-cost journey to the European continent with a companion. Because my companion was considering enrolling in graduate studies in NYC, we had arranged a fortnight visit there en route to London.
We got to the student accommodation, a big multi-story edifice on the Manhattan's Upper West Side called International House. Once we unpacked, we went directly to the cafeteria, where we grabbed food, took a seat, and began chatting with other diners.
Sitting next to me was an gentleman from Iraq enrolled in an engineering program at an Ivy League institution. He wanted to know what I did for a living, and I told him that I had newly finished with a degree in science and had been working on studies using an electron microscope.
He pointed out that there was an research lab at the university – right next door to the school of engineering, which was why he was aware of it. He proposed that I should apply for a position with them. I dismissed the idea, explaining that I was about to fly to Europe and, additionally, I didn’t have a US visa.
A day later I went out exploring, coming back to the dining hall that after dark. The man from Iraq approached 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 showed up for the discussion – but straight off explained to my prospective employer that I lacked the necessary visa, so I was unable to accept the role.
In typical New York fashion – a metropolis where opportunities abound – she declared: “That can be arranged. How soon can you begin?” I never got on that flight to London.
I worked there for 36 months. A perk of the job was that I was granted no-cost classes at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to complete a master’s of international affairs.
I lost touch with him and I don’t even know his name, but his incredible act of kindness transformed my future in so many ways. I lacked the bravery or self-belief to contact anyone at an Ivy League university and request employment. Additionally, I had long dreamed to take classes in another country, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that free tuition.
Critically, that role at the university paved the way for a job in Zurich 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 benevolent individual changed my trajectory in life, and I’m always appreciative.
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