During the final years of the 1980s, I set out on a budget travel adventure to the European continent with a travel partner. Since my companion was interested in enrolling in graduate studies in NYC, we had arranged a two-week stay there on the way to London.
We reached the graduate housing, a large multi-story edifice on the Manhattan's Upper West Side called International House. Setting down our luggage, we went directly to the cafeteria, where we grabbed food, found a table, and engaged in conversation with people eating there.
Sitting next to me was an gentleman from Iraq studying engineering at Columbia University. He wanted to know what I my profession was, and I shared that I had newly finished with a science degree and had been working on studies with electron microscopy.
He noted that there was an microscopy facility at the institution – close to the engineering faculty, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He proposed that I consider applying for a position with them. I dismissed the idea, saying that I was heading off to Europe and, more critically, I didn’t have a US visa.
A day later I toured the city, going back to the cafeteria that night. The engineering student approached me and told me that he had arranged an interview for me with the director of the microscopy lab at Columbia. Since he had taken the effort, I went to the meeting – but immediately explained to my interviewer that I lacked the necessary visa, so I was probably wasting her time.
As is common in NYC – a place where everything seems achievable – she declared: “We'll handle it. How soon can you begin?” I never got on that flight to London.
I held that position for 36 months. An advantage of the role was that I got free tuition at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to complete a postgrad program in international relations.
I lost touch with him and I am unaware of his identity, but his incredible act of kindness altered my destiny in so many ways. I lacked the confidence or self-assurance to approach someone at an Ivy League university and request employment. Moreover, I had consistently hoped to take classes in another country, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that educational benefit.
What's more, that role at the university paved the way for a role in Europe where I met my wonderful partner, with whom I now have a family of four kids. It was a total sliding doors moment. That kind stranger set me on a different course in life, and I’m always appreciative.
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