During the final years of the 1980s, I set out on a budget travel adventure to the European continent with a friend. Since my friend was interested in pursuing a master’s degree in New York, we had booked a 14-day stopover there before heading to London.
We got to the graduate housing, a sizeable ten-floor structure on the Manhattan's Upper West Side called International House. Setting down our luggage, we made our way to the dining hall, where we grabbed food, took a seat, and engaged in conversation with people eating there.
Sitting next to me was an gentleman from Iraq pursuing an engineering degree at Columbia University. He asked me what I did for a living, and I shared that I had recently completed my studies with a science degree and had been conducting research with electron microscopy.
He mentioned that there was an microscopy facility at Columbia University – right next door to the engineering faculty, which was why he was aware of it. He suggested that I ought to seek a position with them. I dismissed the idea, telling him that I was heading off to Europe and, additionally, I lacked a US visa.
A day later I toured the city, going back to the cafeteria that after dark. The engineering student approached me and let me know that he had organized a discussion for me with the director of the microscopy lab at Columbia. Since he had made the arrangement, I went to the meeting – but straight off told my host that I was without a work permit, so I was likely not a suitable candidate.
In typical New York fashion – a metropolis where anything feels possible – she said: “We'll handle it. How soon can you begin?” I didn't board the aircraft to London.
I worked there for a trio of years. One of the benefits was that I was granted complimentary education 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 full name, but his incredible act of kindness altered my destiny in so many ways. I lacked the bravery or self-assurance to approach someone at an elite institution and request employment. And, I had always wanted to study abroad, but lacked the financial means without that tuition waiver.
Perhaps most importantly, that job in New York resulted in a role in Europe where I encountered my beautiful French husband, with whom I now have a family of four kids. This was a pivotal life event. That kind stranger changed my trajectory in life, and I’m forever grateful.
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