In the closing decade of the 80s, I set out on a budget travel adventure to the European continent with a friend. Because my travel mate was exploring starting a postgraduate program in NYC, we had arranged a 14-day stopover there en route to London.
We got to the student accommodation, a big 10-storey building on the Upper West Side named International House. Setting down our luggage, we made our way to the dining hall, where we got some food, sat down, and began chatting with fellow residents.
Sitting next to me was an individual of Iraqi origin enrolled in an engineering program at a prestigious New York university. He inquired what I did, and I told him that I had recently completed my studies with a degree in science and had been conducting research with electron microscopy.
He mentioned that there was an electron microscope unit at the institution – close to the school of engineering, which was how he knew about it. He recommended that I consider applying for a position with them. I chuckled at the suggestion, saying that I was soon departing to Europe and, more critically, I did not possess a US visa.
A day later I toured the city, returning to the canteen that night. The engineering student approached me and told me that he had organized a discussion for me with the leader of the research team at Columbia. Given that he had gone to the trouble, I showed up for the discussion – but straight off told my prospective employer that I didn’t have a visa, so I was probably wasting her time.
As is common in NYC – a metropolis where anything feels possible – she said: “That can be arranged. When can you start?” I didn't board the aircraft to London.
I held that position for a trio of years. An advantage of the role was that I got free tuition at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to finish a graduate degree in global studies.
I never saw that student again and I can't recall his name, but his incredible act of kindness altered my destiny in numerous aspects. I would never have had the confidence or self-assurance to contact anyone at an prestigious college and request employment. Moreover, I had long dreamed to take classes in another country, but lacked the financial means without that free tuition.
Perhaps most importantly, that gig at Columbia led me to a job in Zurich where I encountered my beautiful French husband, with whom I now have 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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