In the final years of the 1980s, I was beginning a low-cost journey to Europe with a friend. Because my friend was exploring enrolling in graduate studies in New York, we had booked a two-week stay there en route to London.
We got to the postgrad residence, a sizeable multi-story edifice on the Manhattan's Upper West Side named International House. After dropping our bags, we made our way to the canteen, where we got some food, found a table, and started talking to people eating there.
Beside me was an gentleman from Iraq pursuing an engineering degree at Columbia University. He wanted to know what I did for a living, and I explained that I had just graduated with a scientific background and had been conducting research with electron microscopy.
He mentioned that there was an electron microscope unit at the institution – adjacent to the engineering department, which was how he knew about it. He recommended that I should apply for a job with them. I laughed it off, telling him that I was about to fly to Europe and, even more importantly, I didn’t have a US visa.
The following day I went out exploring, coming back to the dining hall that evening. The Iraqi student approached me and informed me that he had set up a meeting for me with the head of the electron microscope unit at Columbia. Since he had made the arrangement, I attended the interview – 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 metropolis where anything feels possible – she said: “That can be arranged. How soon can you begin?” I never got on that flight to London.
I worked there for three years. One of the benefits was that I also received free tuition at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to finish a master’s of international affairs.
I lost touch with him and I can't recall his full name, but his incredible act of kindness altered my destiny in numerous aspects. I would never have had the courage or self-belief to reach out at an Ivy League university and seek a position. Moreover, I had always wanted to pursue education overseas, but lacked the financial means without that educational benefit.
Critically, that job in New York paved the way for a job in Zurich where I got to know my beautiful French husband, with whom I am raising four amazing children. This was a pivotal life event. That helpful person changed my trajectory in life, and I’m eternally thankful.
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