During the final years of the 1980s, I was beginning a low-cost journey to the European continent with a friend. Since my companion was exploring enrolling in graduate studies in New York, we had booked a fortnight visit there before heading to London.
We got to the graduate housing, a large ten-floor structure on the UWS named International House. After dropping our bags, we went directly to the dining hall, where we picked up meals, sat down, and began chatting with fellow residents.
Sitting next to me was an gentleman from Iraq enrolled in an engineering program at Columbia University. He wanted to know what I did, and I told him that I had just graduated with a science degree and had been working on studies using an electron microscope.
He mentioned that there was an microscopy facility at the institution – close to the engineering faculty, which was how he knew about it. He suggested that I ought to seek a job with them. I laughed it off, telling him that I was heading off to Europe and, more critically, I lacked a US visa.
A day later I went out exploring, going back to the cafeteria that evening. The Iraqi student approached me and informed me that he had arranged an interview for me with the leader of the research team at Columbia. Given that he had gone to the trouble, I attended the interview – but immediately explained to my prospective employer that I was without a work permit, so I was probably wasting her time.
Reflecting the city's spirit – a place where everything seems achievable – she said: “We can make that happen. When can you start?” I missed my plane to London.
I was employed there for three years. A perk of the job was that I also received free tuition at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to complete a master’s of international affairs.
I never saw that student again and I don’t even know his name, but his remarkable generosity altered my destiny in numerous aspects. I didn't possess the confidence or self-belief to reach out at an elite institution and request employment. Additionally, 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 role at the university paved the way for a role in Europe where I encountered my handsome spouse from France, with whom I now have 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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