During the final years of the 1980s, I was beginning a backpacking trip to Europe with a travel partner. Because my travel mate was considering enrolling in graduate studies in NYC, we had arranged a 14-day stopover there on the way to London.
We reached the postgrad residence, a big ten-floor structure on the Manhattan's Upper West Side called International House. Once we unpacked, we made our way to the cafeteria, where we grabbed food, found a table, and engaged in conversation with people eating there.
Adjacent to my seat was an Iraqi man pursuing an engineering degree at a prestigious New York university. He wanted to know what I my profession was, and I explained that I had newly finished with a science degree and had been working on studies involving microscopic analysis.
He pointed out that there was an microscopy facility at the university – close to the engineering faculty, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He recommended that I ought to seek a role with them. I chuckled at the suggestion, explaining that I was about to fly to Europe and, additionally, I lacked a US visa.
The following day I went out exploring, coming back to the dining hall that evening. The engineering student approached me and let me know that he had arranged an interview for me with the director of the microscopy lab at Columbia. Since he had taken the effort, I went to the meeting – but straight off told my interviewer that I was without a work permit, so I was likely not a suitable candidate.
In typical New York fashion – a place where anything feels possible – she declared: “We can make that happen. When can you start?” I didn't board the aircraft to London.
I was employed there for 36 months. A perk of the job was that I got complimentary education at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to earn a graduate degree in global studies.
We didn't cross paths after that and I am unaware of his full name, but his selfless gesture transformed my future in so many ways. I lacked the confidence or self-assurance to reach out at an Ivy League university and request employment. Additionally, I had always wanted to take classes in another country, but could never have afforded it without that educational benefit.
Critically, that job in New York led me to a position in Switzerland where I encountered my beautiful French husband, with whom I currently share 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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