During the final years of the 1980s, I set out on a backpacking trip to Europe with a friend. Since my friend was exploring enrolling in graduate studies in NYC, we had planned a 14-day stopover there on the way to London.
We got to the postgrad residence, a large ten-floor structure on the Upper West Side called International House. Once we unpacked, we made our way to the canteen, where we picked up meals, sat down, and began chatting with other diners.
Beside me was an Iraqi man studying engineering at an Ivy League institution. He wanted to know what I did, and I told him that I had recently completed my studies with a science degree and had been performing experiments using an electron microscope.
He noted that there was an electron microscope unit at the university – close to the engineering department, which was how he knew about it. He suggested that I consider applying for a job with them. I chuckled at the suggestion, telling him that I was soon departing to Europe and, additionally, I lacked a US visa.
The following day I ventured out, coming back to the dining hall that after dark. The man from Iraq walked over to me and let me know that he had set up a meeting for me with the director of the microscopy lab at Columbia. Because he had made the arrangement, I went to the meeting – but right away informed my interviewer that I lacked the necessary visa, so I was probably wasting her time.
As is common in NYC – a metropolis where everything seems achievable – she said: “That can be arranged. What's your start date?” I never got on that flight to London.
I was employed there for three years. A perk of the job was that I got no-cost classes at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to complete a postgrad program in international relations.
I lost touch with him and I don’t even know his identity, but his selfless gesture altered my destiny in multiple respects. I lacked the bravery or self-belief to approach someone at an elite institution and seek a position. And, I had consistently hoped to take classes in another country, but could never have afforded it without that free tuition.
Perhaps most importantly, that role at the university led me to a position in Switzerland where I got to know my beautiful French husband, with whom I now have four amazing children. That encounter altered everything. That kind stranger redirected my path in life, and I’m forever grateful.
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