During the closing decade of the 80s, I was beginning a budget travel adventure to the European continent with a friend. Since my companion was considering pursuing a master’s degree in New York, we had arranged a 14-day stopover there before heading to London.
We arrived at the student accommodation, a big ten-floor structure on the UWS called International House. Setting down our luggage, we headed straight to the dining hall, where we grabbed food, took a seat, and engaged in conversation with fellow residents.
Adjacent to my seat was an Iraqi man pursuing an engineering degree at a prestigious New York university. He asked me what I did for a living, and I explained that I had recently completed my studies with a degree in science and had been performing experiments involving microscopic analysis.
He mentioned that there was an research lab at the university – adjacent to the engineering faculty, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He recommended that I should apply for a role with them. I dismissed the idea, explaining that I was soon departing to Europe and, even more importantly, I lacked a US visa.
A day later I toured the city, coming back to the dining hall that night. The Iraqi 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 gone to the trouble, I showed up for the discussion – but immediately informed my prospective employer that I lacked the necessary visa, so I was likely not a suitable candidate.
In typical New York fashion – a metropolis where everything seems achievable – she declared: “We'll handle it. When can you start?” I missed my plane to London.
I held that position for a trio of years. One of the benefits was that I also received free tuition at Columbia, and I seized the chance to earn a master’s of international affairs.
We didn't cross paths after that and I don’t even know his name, but his remarkable generosity altered my destiny in so many ways. I lacked the courage or self-assurance to contact anyone at an prestigious college and ask for a job. Additionally, I had long dreamed to take classes in another country, but lacked the financial means without that educational benefit.
What's more, that gig at Columbia resulted in a role in Europe where I met my handsome spouse from France, with whom I now have a family of four kids. That encounter altered everything. That kind stranger changed my trajectory in life, and I’m forever grateful.
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