In the final years of the 1980s, I set out on a backpacking trip to the European continent with a friend. Because my companion was considering starting a postgraduate program in New York, we had planned a fortnight visit there on the way to London.
We got to the graduate housing, a big ten-floor structure on the Upper West Side called International House. After dropping our bags, we went directly to the dining hall, where we picked up meals, found a table, 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 shared that I had newly finished with a scientific background and had been conducting research with electron microscopy.
He noted that there was an research lab at the institution – right next door to the school of engineering, which was why he was aware of it. He proposed that I should apply for a job with them. I laughed it off, explaining that I was about to fly to Europe and, additionally, I didn’t have a US visa.
A day later I toured the city, coming back to the dining hall that evening. The man from Iraq came up 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 showed up for the discussion – but immediately told my host that I didn’t have a visa, so I was probably wasting her time.
In typical New York fashion – a city where opportunities abound – she declared: “We'll handle it. When can you start?” I didn't board the aircraft to London.
I held that position for three years. A perk of the job was that I also received no-cost classes at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to earn a master’s of international affairs.
We didn't cross paths after that and I am unaware of his identity, but his incredible act of kindness altered my destiny in so many ways. I would never have had the courage or self-belief to reach out at an prestigious college and seek a position. Additionally, I had always wanted to take classes in another country, but lacked the financial means without that free tuition.
Critically, that role at the university resulted in a position in Switzerland where I met my handsome spouse from France, with whom I currently share a family of four kids. That encounter altered everything. That helpful person redirected my path in life, and I’m eternally thankful.
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