In the closing decade of the 80s, I set out on a backpacking trip to Europe with a travel partner. Because my friend was considering starting a postgraduate program in New York, we had planned a fortnight visit there before heading to London.
We got to the student accommodation, a large 10-storey building on the Upper West Side known as International House. Once we unpacked, we made our way to the canteen, where we picked up meals, sat down, and started talking to fellow residents.
Sitting next to me was an gentleman from Iraq studying engineering at an Ivy League institution. He inquired what I did for a living, and I told him that I had recently completed my studies with a science degree and had been conducting research involving microscopic analysis.
He mentioned that there was an microscopy facility at Columbia University – right next door to the school of engineering, which was how he knew about it. He recommended that I ought to seek a job with them. I dismissed the idea, saying that I was about to fly to Europe and, more critically, I did not possess a US visa.
A day later I toured the city, going back to the cafeteria that evening. The man from Iraq came up to me and let me know that he had arranged an interview for me with the head of the electron microscope unit at Columbia. Since he had gone to the trouble, I went to the meeting – but right away explained to my interviewer that I lacked the necessary visa, so I was probably wasting her time.
As is common in NYC – a city where everything seems achievable – she responded: “We can make that happen. When can you start?” I missed my plane to London.
I held that position for a trio of years. One of the benefits was that I was granted free tuition at Columbia, and I took advantage to earn a graduate degree in global studies.
We didn't cross paths after that and I don’t even know his name, but his selfless gesture transformed my future in numerous aspects. I lacked the confidence or self-belief to reach out at an Ivy League university and seek a position. Moreover, I had long dreamed to study abroad, but lacked the financial means without that free tuition.
Critically, that role at the university resulted in a position in Switzerland where I encountered my handsome spouse from France, with whom I currently share four wonderful sons and daughters. That encounter altered everything. That kind stranger redirected my path in life, and I’m eternally thankful.
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