During the late 1980s, I was embarking on a low-cost journey to the European continent with a companion. Because my travel mate was interested in starting a postgraduate program in the Big Apple, we had booked a fortnight visit there on the way to London.
We got to the postgrad residence, a big 10-storey building on the Upper West Side called International House. Once we unpacked, we went directly to the cafeteria, where we got some food, found a table, and began chatting with people eating there.
Adjacent to my seat was an individual of Iraqi origin studying engineering at a prestigious New York university. He inquired what I my profession was, and I explained that I had just graduated with a science degree and had been working on studies using an electron microscope.
He noted that there was an research lab at the institution – close to the engineering department, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He proposed that I ought to seek a position with them. I chuckled at the suggestion, telling him that I was about to fly to Europe and, additionally, I didn’t have a US visa.
A day later I ventured out, returning to the canteen that night. The engineering student approached me and informed me that he had set up a meeting for me with the leader of the research team at Columbia. Given that he had taken the effort, I attended the interview – but immediately told my host that I didn’t have a visa, so I was likely not a suitable candidate.
In typical New York fashion – a place where opportunities abound – she declared: “We'll handle it. What's your start date?” I never got on that flight to London.
I worked there for 36 months. A perk of the job was that I got complimentary education at Columbia, and I seized the chance to earn a graduate degree in global studies.
I lost touch with him and I can't recall his full name, but his remarkable generosity changed my life in so many ways. I didn't possess the confidence or self-belief to reach out at an elite institution and ask for a job. And, I had long dreamed to take classes in another country, but lacked the financial means without that free tuition.
Perhaps most importantly, that role at the university resulted in a job in Zurich where I met my beautiful French husband, with whom I now have four amazing children. 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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