In the final years of the 1980s, I was embarking on a backpacking trip to Europe with a friend. Since my travel mate was interested in enrolling in graduate studies in NYC, we had planned a two-week stay there en route to London.
We reached the graduate housing, a big 10-storey building on the Manhattan's Upper West Side known as International House. Once we unpacked, we went directly to the cafeteria, where we got some food, found a table, and started talking to people eating there.
Adjacent to my seat was an gentleman from Iraq studying engineering at an Ivy League institution. He wanted to know what I did, and I explained that I had newly finished with a scientific background and had been performing experiments using an electron microscope.
He noted that there was an research lab at the university – right next door to the engineering department, which was the reason he was familiar with 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, even more importantly, I didn’t have a US visa.
The next day I toured the city, returning to the canteen that night. The Iraqi student walked over to me and told me that he had organized a discussion for me with the leader of the research team at Columbia. Since he had taken the effort, I showed up for the discussion – but straight off explained to my interviewer that I lacked the necessary visa, so I was probably wasting her time.
Reflecting the city's spirit – a place where opportunities abound – she responded: “We'll handle it. How soon can you begin?” I missed my plane to London.
I was employed there for a trio of years. An advantage of the role was that I also received free tuition at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to complete a postgrad program in international relations.
I never saw that student again and I don’t even know his name, but his remarkable generosity changed my life in so many ways. I lacked the confidence or nerve to approach someone at an prestigious college and seek a position. And, I had consistently hoped to take classes in another country, but could never have afforded it without that tuition waiver.
What's more, that job in New York paved the way for a role in Europe where I got to know my beautiful French husband, with whom I now have four wonderful sons and daughters. It was a total sliding doors moment. That kind stranger redirected my path in life, and I’m eternally thankful.
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