During the closing decade of the 80s, I set out on a low-cost journey to Europe with a travel partner. Because my travel mate was interested in pursuing a master’s degree in the Big Apple, we had booked a 14-day stopover there en route to London.
We reached the student accommodation, a big 10-storey building on the Manhattan's Upper West Side named International House. Once we unpacked, we made our way to the canteen, where we grabbed food, took a seat, and began chatting with other diners.
Beside me was an individual of Iraqi origin pursuing an engineering degree at an Ivy League institution. He wanted to know what I my profession was, and I told him that I had just graduated with a scientific background and had been working on studies using an electron microscope.
He pointed out that there was an electron microscope unit at Columbia University – right next door to the engineering faculty, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He proposed that I should apply for a role with them. I chuckled at the suggestion, explaining that I was about to fly to Europe and, additionally, I didn’t have a US visa.
The following day I toured the city, coming back to the dining hall that night. The engineering student approached me and told me that he had arranged an interview for me with the director of the microscopy lab at Columbia. Because he had taken the effort, I went to the meeting – but immediately 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 anything feels possible – she said: “We'll handle it. What's your start date?” I missed my plane to London.
I was employed there for 36 months. A perk of the job was that I also received no-cost classes at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to earn a postgrad program in international relations.
I never saw that student again and I don’t even know his name, but his remarkable generosity altered my destiny in so many ways. I lacked the confidence or nerve to reach out at an prestigious college and ask for a job. Additionally, I had long dreamed to pursue education overseas, but lacked the financial means without that educational benefit.
What's more, that gig at Columbia resulted in a role in Europe where I met my beautiful French husband, with whom I currently share four wonderful sons and daughters. It was a total sliding doors moment. That kind stranger changed my trajectory in life, and I’m forever grateful.
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