During the late 1980s, I was embarking on a backpacking trip to Europe with a companion. Since my travel mate was exploring starting a postgraduate program in New York, we had arranged a fortnight visit there on the way to London.
We reached the graduate housing, a large ten-floor structure on the Upper West Side named International House. Once we unpacked, we made our way to the cafeteria, where we got some food, took a seat, and engaged in conversation with people eating there.
Sitting next to me was an Iraqi man pursuing an engineering degree at an Ivy League institution. He asked me what I my profession was, and I told him that I had recently completed my studies with a degree in science and had been performing experiments involving microscopic analysis.
He noted that there was an research lab at the university – close to the school of engineering, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He proposed that I ought to seek a role with them. I laughed it off, explaining that I was about to fly to Europe and, additionally, I did not possess a US visa.
The next day I toured the city, returning to the canteen that after dark. The engineering student approached me and let me know that he had arranged an interview for me with the director of the microscopy lab at Columbia. Given that he had made the arrangement, I showed up for the discussion – but right away informed my prospective employer that I didn’t have a visa, so I was probably wasting her time.
In typical New York fashion – a place where anything feels possible – she responded: “That can be arranged. What's your start date?” I never got on that flight to London.
I held that position for three years. An advantage of the role was that I was granted no-cost classes at Columbia, and I seized the chance to complete a postgrad program in international relations.
I lost touch with him and I don’t even know his identity, but his selfless gesture altered my destiny in multiple respects. I would never have had the bravery or nerve to contact anyone at an Ivy League university and seek a position. Moreover, I had long dreamed to pursue education overseas, but lacked the financial means without that free tuition.
What's more, that job in New York led me to a position in Switzerland where I got to know my beautiful French husband, with whom I am raising four wonderful sons and daughters. That encounter altered everything. That kind stranger changed my trajectory in life, and I’m eternally thankful.
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