During the closing decade of the 80s, I was beginning a budget travel adventure to Europe with a friend. Since my travel mate was considering enrolling in graduate studies in the Big Apple, we had planned a fortnight visit there before heading to London.
We reached the student accommodation, a large 10-storey building on the Upper West Side called International House. After dropping our bags, we made our way to the canteen, where we got some food, took a seat, and engaged in conversation with fellow residents.
Beside me was an Iraqi man enrolled in an engineering program at Columbia University. He inquired what I did for a living, and I explained that I had just graduated with a science degree and had been working on studies with electron microscopy.
He pointed out that there was an research lab at the institution – close to the engineering department, which was how he knew about it. He suggested that I ought to seek a job with them. I laughed it off, saying that I was about to fly to Europe and, even more importantly, I didn’t have a US visa.
A day later I toured the city, returning to the canteen that after dark. The engineering student came up to me and informed me that he had arranged an interview for me with the leader of the research team at Columbia. Because he had made the arrangement, I went to the meeting – but immediately told my interviewer that I lacked the necessary visa, so I was probably wasting her time.
As is common in NYC – a city where opportunities abound – she declared: “That can be arranged. How soon can you begin?” I never got on that flight to London.
I worked there for 36 months. An advantage of the role was that I also received no-cost classes at Columbia, and I took advantage to finish a postgrad program in international relations.
I lost touch with him and I can't recall his identity, but his remarkable generosity changed my life in numerous aspects. I didn't possess the courage or self-belief to approach someone at an prestigious college and seek a position. Moreover, I had always wanted to study abroad, but lacked the financial means without that educational benefit.
Critically, that gig at Columbia resulted in a position in Switzerland where I got to know my beautiful French husband, with whom I now have a family of four kids. It was a total sliding doors moment. That benevolent individual set me on a different course in life, and I’m forever grateful.
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