During the closing decade of the 80s, I was embarking on a budget travel adventure to the European continent with a travel partner. Because my friend was considering starting a postgraduate program in New York, we had booked a 14-day stopover there on the way to London.
We got to the graduate housing, a large ten-floor structure on the Upper West Side known as International House. Once we unpacked, we went directly to the dining hall, where we picked up meals, found a table, and began chatting with fellow residents.
Adjacent to my seat was an gentleman from Iraq enrolled in an engineering program at an Ivy League institution. He asked me what I did, and I shared that I had newly finished with a science degree and had been working on studies involving microscopic analysis.
He mentioned that there was an electron microscope unit at the university – right next door to the school of engineering, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He proposed that I ought to seek a role with them. I laughed it off, telling him that I was heading off to Europe and, additionally, I did not possess a US visa.
A day later I toured the city, going back to the cafeteria that night. The man from Iraq walked over to me and informed me that he had set up a meeting for me with the director of the microscopy lab at Columbia. Because he had made the arrangement, I showed up for the discussion – but right away informed my prospective employer that I didn’t have a visa, so I was unable to accept the role.
In typical New York fashion – a metropolis where anything feels possible – she said: “We can make that happen. What's your start date?” I didn't board the aircraft to London.
I held that position for 36 months. A perk of the job was that I also received free tuition at Columbia, and I seized the chance to earn a graduate degree in global studies.
We didn't cross paths after that and I don’t even know his name, but his remarkable generosity changed my life in so many ways. I didn't possess the courage or self-assurance to approach someone at an Ivy League university and seek a position. Moreover, I had always wanted to study abroad, but could never have afforded it without that educational benefit.
What's more, that job in New York led me to a position in Switzerland where I met my wonderful partner, with whom I currently share four wonderful sons and daughters. It was a total sliding doors moment. That kind stranger set me on a different course in life, and I’m forever grateful.
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