In the closing decade of the 80s, I was embarking on a backpacking trip to the European continent with a companion. Because my friend was considering enrolling in graduate studies in New York, we had arranged a two-week stay there before heading to London.
We reached the graduate housing, a sizeable 10-storey building on the UWS called International House. After dropping our bags, we made our way to the cafeteria, where we got some food, found a table, and began chatting with fellow residents.
Beside me was an gentleman from Iraq enrolled in an engineering program at an Ivy League institution. He wanted to know what I did, and I shared that I had recently completed my studies with a degree in science and had been conducting research using an electron microscope.
He pointed out that there was an microscopy facility at the institution – close to the school of engineering, which was how he knew about it. He suggested that I should apply for a job with them. I dismissed the idea, explaining that I was soon departing to Europe and, even more importantly, I lacked a US visa.
The next day I ventured out, returning to the canteen that evening. The engineering student approached me and told me that he had arranged an interview for me with the head of the electron microscope unit at Columbia. Since he had taken the effort, I attended the interview – but straight off told my host that I was without a work permit, so I was probably wasting her time.
In typical New York fashion – a city where everything seems achievable – she responded: “We'll handle it. How soon can you begin?” I never got on that flight to London.
I was employed there for 36 months. One of the benefits 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 don’t even know his identity, but his remarkable generosity transformed my future in numerous aspects. I lacked the bravery or self-assurance to reach out at an prestigious college and ask for a job. Moreover, I had long dreamed to pursue education overseas, but lacked the financial means without that educational benefit.
Critically, that job in New York resulted in a position in Switzerland where I got to know my beautiful French husband, with whom I am raising four amazing children. It was a total sliding doors moment. That helpful person set me on a different course in life, and I’m eternally thankful.
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