In the final years of the 1980s, I was embarking on a low-cost journey to Europe with a companion. Since my travel mate was considering starting a postgraduate program in the Big Apple, we had planned a 14-day stopover there en route to London.
We got to the postgrad residence, a large ten-floor structure on the Upper West Side named International House. After dropping our bags, we went directly to the cafeteria, where we grabbed food, took a seat, and began chatting with people eating there.
Adjacent to my seat was an gentleman from Iraq studying engineering at an Ivy League institution. He wanted to know what I my profession was, and I shared that I had recently completed my studies with a science degree and had been working on studies using an electron microscope.
He noted that there was an research lab at the institution – close to the engineering faculty, which was why he was aware of it. He proposed that I should apply for a position with them. I laughed it off, 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, coming back to the dining hall that evening. The man from Iraq came up to me and informed me that he had arranged an interview for me with the head of the electron microscope unit at Columbia. Given that he had gone to the trouble, I showed up for the discussion – but right away explained to my interviewer that I was without a work permit, so I was probably wasting her time.
In typical New York fashion – a metropolis where anything feels possible – she responded: “We can make that happen. What's your start date?” I didn't board the aircraft to London.
I was employed there for a trio of years. A perk of the job was that I also received no-cost classes at Columbia, and I took advantage to complete a postgrad program in international relations.
I lost touch with him and I am unaware of his name, but his remarkable generosity transformed my future in multiple respects. I would never have had the confidence or nerve to approach someone at an Ivy League university and seek a position. Moreover, I had consistently hoped to pursue education overseas, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that free tuition.
Critically, that role at the university paved the way for a job in Zurich where I met my beautiful French husband, with whom I am raising a family of four kids. It was a total sliding doors moment. That helpful person redirected my path in life, and I’m forever grateful.
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