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 enrolling in graduate studies in NYC, we had planned a two-week stay there en route to London.
We got to the graduate housing, a big multi-story edifice on the UWS known as International House. After dropping our bags, we headed straight to the cafeteria, where we picked up meals, took a seat, and started talking to other diners.
Beside me was an gentleman from Iraq enrolled in an engineering program at an Ivy League institution. He asked me what I did for a living, and I explained that I had just graduated with a degree in science and had been conducting research using an electron microscope.
He noted that there was an electron microscope unit at Columbia University – right next door to the engineering department, which was how he knew about it. He recommended that I should apply for a job with them. I chuckled at the suggestion, explaining that I was heading off to Europe and, even more importantly, I did not possess a US visa.
The following day I toured the city, returning to the canteen that evening. The Iraqi student came up to me and told me that he had arranged an interview for me with the leader of the research team at Columbia. Because he had taken the effort, I showed up for the discussion – but immediately informed my prospective employer that I didn’t have a visa, so I was probably wasting her time.
In typical New York fashion – a metropolis where opportunities abound – she declared: “We'll handle it. How soon can you begin?” I didn't board the aircraft to London.
I was employed there for three years. A perk of the job was that I was granted complimentary education at Columbia, and I took advantage to earn a master’s of international affairs.
I never saw that student again and I don’t even know his identity, but his incredible act of kindness transformed my future in numerous aspects. I didn't possess the courage or nerve to contact anyone at an prestigious college and request employment. Additionally, I had long dreamed to take classes in another country, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that free tuition.
Perhaps most importantly, that job in New York paved the way for a position in Switzerland where I encountered my beautiful French husband, with whom I now have four wonderful sons and daughters. It was a total sliding doors moment. That helpful person set me on a different course in life, and I’m always appreciative.
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