During the late 1980s, I was beginning a backpacking trip to Europe with a travel partner. Because my companion was considering starting a postgraduate program in New York, we had booked a two-week stay there en route to London.
We got to the graduate housing, a large multi-story edifice on the Manhattan's Upper West Side known as International House. Setting down our luggage, we went directly to the dining hall, where we picked up meals, found a table, and started talking to fellow residents.
Adjacent to my seat was an individual of Iraqi origin pursuing an engineering degree at an Ivy League institution. He inquired what I did, and I explained that I had just graduated with a science degree and had been conducting research with electron microscopy.
He pointed out that there was an microscopy facility at Columbia University – right next door to the school of engineering, which was why he was aware of it. He suggested that I consider applying for a job with them. I dismissed the idea, explaining that I was heading off to Europe and, even more importantly, I didn’t have a US visa.
The next day I went out exploring, going back to the cafeteria that after dark. The engineering student came up to 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 gone to the trouble, I went to the meeting – but straight off informed my host that I was without a work permit, so I was probably wasting her time.
In typical New York fashion – a place where anything feels possible – she said: “We can make that happen. When can you start?” I didn't board the aircraft to London.
I held that position for three years. A perk of the job was that I got free tuition at Columbia, and I seized the chance to complete a master’s of international affairs.
I never saw that student again and I don’t even know his full name, but his incredible act of kindness transformed my future in so many ways. I would never have had the bravery or self-assurance to approach someone at an prestigious college and seek a position. Moreover, I had long dreamed to take classes in another country, but could never have afforded it without that free tuition.
Critically, that job in New York resulted in a position in Switzerland where I encountered my handsome spouse from France, with whom I am raising four wonderful sons and daughters. This was a pivotal life event. That kind stranger changed my trajectory in life, and I’m forever grateful.
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