In the late 1980s, I was embarking on a budget travel adventure to the European continent with a friend. Since my friend was considering enrolling in graduate studies in NYC, we had arranged a 14-day stopover there en route to London.
We arrived at the postgrad residence, a sizeable multi-story edifice on the Upper West Side named International House. After dropping our bags, we headed straight to the canteen, where we got some food, sat down, and began chatting with people eating there.
Beside me was an Iraqi man enrolled in an engineering program at Columbia University. He inquired what I did for a living, and I shared that I had recently completed my studies with a science degree and had been performing experiments involving microscopic analysis.
He pointed out that there was an microscopy facility at Columbia University – close to the engineering faculty, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He recommended that I consider applying for a position with them. I laughed it off, telling him that I was soon departing to Europe and, even more importantly, I did not possess a US visa.
The following day I went out exploring, going back to the cafeteria that evening. The man from Iraq approached me and told me that he had set up a meeting for me with the head of the electron microscope unit at Columbia. Since he had made the arrangement, I showed up for the discussion – but straight off informed my prospective employer that I lacked the necessary visa, so I was probably wasting her time.
In typical New York fashion – a metropolis where anything feels possible – she declared: “We'll handle it. What's your start date?” I never got on that flight to London.
I was employed there for three years. An advantage of the role was that I was granted 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 am unaware of his full name, but his remarkable generosity altered my destiny in multiple respects. I would never have had the confidence or self-belief to contact anyone at an elite institution and seek a position. And, I had long dreamed to take classes in another country, but could never have afforded it without that tuition waiver.
Critically, that job in New York led me to a job in Zurich where I encountered my beautiful French husband, with whom I am raising four amazing children. It was a total sliding doors moment. That kind stranger changed my trajectory in life, and I’m eternally thankful.
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