During the final years of the 1980s, I was embarking on a low-cost journey to Europe with a companion. Because my travel mate was exploring enrolling in graduate studies in NYC, we had planned a two-week stay there en route to London.
We reached the student accommodation, 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 began chatting with people eating there.
Beside me was an individual of Iraqi origin pursuing an engineering degree at Columbia University. He asked me what I did for a living, and I shared that I had just graduated with a science degree and had been conducting research using an electron microscope.
He pointed out that there was an electron microscope unit at Columbia University – right next door to the engineering department, which was why he was aware of it. He suggested that I ought to seek a job 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.
The following day I toured the city, coming back to the dining hall that after dark. The Iraqi student came up to me and told me that he had set up a meeting for me with the director of the microscopy lab at Columbia. Given that he had taken the effort, I showed up for the discussion – but right away explained to my prospective employer that I was without a work permit, so I was likely not a suitable candidate.
In typical New York fashion – a metropolis where opportunities abound – she declared: “We'll handle it. How soon can you begin?” I missed my plane to London.
I was employed there for three years. A perk of the job was that I was granted no-cost classes at Columbia, and I seized the chance to complete a master’s of international affairs.
I never saw that student again and I can't recall his name, but his incredible act of kindness altered my destiny in multiple respects. I lacked the confidence or nerve to approach someone at an prestigious college and seek a position. Additionally, I had consistently hoped to study abroad, but lacked the financial means without that free tuition.
Perhaps most importantly, that role at the university resulted in a position in Switzerland where I got to know my beautiful French husband, with whom I am raising a family of four kids. That encounter altered everything. That kind stranger set me on a different course in life, and I’m always appreciative.
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