During the final years of the 1980s, I set out on a low-cost journey to the European continent with a friend. Since my friend was exploring starting a postgraduate program in NYC, we had planned a two-week stay there before heading to London.
We arrived at the student accommodation, a large ten-floor structure on the Manhattan's Upper West Side named International House. Once we unpacked, we went directly to the cafeteria, where we got some food, took a seat, and started talking to other diners.
Adjacent to my seat was an individual of Iraqi origin enrolled in an engineering program at an Ivy League institution. He asked me what I did for a living, and I shared that I had newly finished with a degree in science and had been working on studies with electron microscopy.
He pointed out that there was an electron microscope unit at the university – right next door to the school of engineering, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He proposed that I consider applying for a role with them. I chuckled at the suggestion, saying that I was heading off to Europe and, additionally, I did not possess a US visa.
A day later I went out exploring, coming back to the dining hall that evening. The Iraqi student approached me and informed me that he had organized a discussion for me with the head of the electron microscope unit at Columbia. Because he had made the arrangement, I attended the interview – but immediately explained to my prospective employer that I lacked the necessary visa, so I was unable to accept the role.
In typical New York fashion – a metropolis where everything seems achievable – she said: “We'll handle it. When can you start?” I didn't board the aircraft to London.
I was employed there for 36 months. One of the benefits was that I got free tuition at Columbia, and I seized the chance to complete a graduate degree in global studies.
We didn't cross paths after that and I don’t even know his name, but his incredible act of kindness altered my destiny in so many ways. I would never have had the confidence or self-belief to approach someone at an Ivy League university and ask for a job. Additionally, I had consistently hoped to study abroad, but could never have afforded it without that free tuition.
What's more, that gig at Columbia paved the way for a role in Europe where I got to know my handsome spouse from France, with whom I now have 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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