During the final years of the 1980s, I was beginning a backpacking trip to the European continent with a friend. Because my travel mate was exploring starting a postgraduate program in New York, we had planned a 14-day stopover there before heading to London.
We reached the graduate housing, a sizeable 10-storey building on the UWS known as International House. Once we unpacked, we headed straight to the cafeteria, where we picked up meals, took a seat, and engaged in conversation with other diners.
Sitting next to me was an Iraqi man studying engineering at Columbia University. He asked me what I did, and I explained that I had recently completed my studies with a scientific background and had been conducting research involving microscopic analysis.
He noted that there was an research lab at Columbia University – right next door to the school of engineering, which was how he knew about it. He proposed that I ought to seek a position with them. I dismissed the idea, explaining that I was heading off to Europe and, more critically, I did not possess a US visa.
The next day I went out exploring, going back to the cafeteria that evening. The man from Iraq walked over to me and let me know that he had set up a meeting for me with the head of the electron microscope unit at Columbia. Since he had gone to the trouble, I attended the interview – but right away informed my prospective employer that I lacked the necessary visa, so I was unable to accept the role.
In typical New York fashion – a city where everything seems achievable – she said: “That can be arranged. How soon can you begin?” I didn't board the aircraft to London.
I worked there for 36 months. An advantage of the role was that I got free tuition at Columbia, and I took advantage to earn a postgrad program in international relations.
I lost touch with him and I don’t even know his identity, but his remarkable generosity altered my destiny in numerous aspects. I didn't possess the confidence or self-assurance to contact anyone at an prestigious college and seek a position. Moreover, I had long dreamed to take classes in another country, but lacked the financial means without that educational benefit.
Perhaps most importantly, that role at the university resulted in a role in Europe where I met my handsome spouse from France, with whom I am raising a family of four kids. This was a pivotal life event. That kind stranger redirected my path in life, and I’m eternally thankful.
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