In the closing decade of the 80s, I was beginning a budget travel adventure to the European continent with a companion. Because my friend was considering starting a postgraduate program in NYC, we had booked a two-week stay there before heading to London.
We reached the postgrad residence, a large ten-floor structure on the Manhattan's Upper West Side called International House. Once we unpacked, we headed straight to the dining hall, where we got some food, found a table, and began chatting with people eating there.
Sitting next to me was an Iraqi man studying engineering at a prestigious New York university. He inquired what I did for a living, and I explained that I had newly finished with a degree in science and had been working on studies with electron microscopy.
He mentioned that there was an electron microscope unit at the institution – right next door to the engineering department, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He suggested that I consider applying for a position with them. I laughed it off, saying that I was about to fly to Europe and, more critically, I lacked a US visa.
A day later I toured the city, returning to the canteen that evening. 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. Since he had gone to the trouble, I showed up for the discussion – but straight off told my host that I didn’t have a visa, so I was unable to accept the role.
In typical New York fashion – a city where everything seems achievable – she declared: “We can make that happen. When can you start?” I missed my plane to London.
I worked there for a trio of years. An advantage of the role was that I also received free tuition at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to finish a postgrad program in international relations.
I lost touch with him and I can't recall his name, but his incredible act of kindness altered my destiny in numerous aspects. I would never have had the bravery or self-assurance to contact anyone at an prestigious college and ask for a job. Moreover, I had long dreamed to take classes in another country, but lacked the financial means without that educational benefit.
What's more, that job in New York led me to a job in Zurich where I got to know my handsome spouse from France, with whom I currently share four amazing children. That encounter altered everything. That kind stranger set me on a different course in life, and I’m always appreciative.
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