During the final years of the 1980s, I set out on a low-cost journey to Europe with a friend. Since my travel mate was exploring enrolling in graduate studies in NYC, we had planned a fortnight visit there before heading to London.
We reached the student accommodation, a sizeable 10-storey building on the Manhattan's Upper West Side named International House. After dropping our bags, we made our way to the canteen, where we picked up meals, found a table, and began chatting with fellow residents.
Adjacent to my seat was an Iraqi man enrolled in an engineering program at a prestigious New York university. He wanted to know what I my profession was, and I shared that I had newly finished with a scientific background and had been conducting research with electron microscopy.
He noted that there was an electron microscope unit at the university – close to the engineering department, which was why he was aware of it. He proposed that I should apply for a job with them. I chuckled at the suggestion, explaining that I was heading off to Europe and, more critically, I didn’t have a US visa.
The following day I toured the city, returning to the canteen that evening. The engineering student walked over to me and let me know that he had arranged an interview for me with the director of the microscopy lab at Columbia. Because he had made the arrangement, I showed up for the discussion – but straight off explained to my interviewer that I was without a work permit, so I was unable to accept the role.
In typical New York fashion – a metropolis where anything feels possible – she said: “That can be arranged. What's your start date?” I never got on that flight to London.
I held that position for three years. A perk of the job was that I got free tuition at Columbia, and I took advantage to earn a master’s of international affairs.
I never saw that student again and I am unaware of his full name, but his remarkable generosity transformed my future in so many ways. I would never have had the confidence or self-assurance to reach out at an elite institution and request employment. Additionally, I had long dreamed to take classes in another country, but could never have afforded it without that free tuition.
Perhaps most importantly, that job in New York resulted in a job in Zurich where I encountered my handsome spouse from France, with whom I now have four amazing children. It was a total sliding doors moment. That kind stranger set me on a different course in life, and I’m eternally thankful.
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