During the late 1980s, I set out on a budget travel adventure to the European continent with a companion. Because my companion was interested in starting a postgraduate program in the Big Apple, we had arranged a fortnight visit there on the way to London.
We got to the postgrad residence, a sizeable ten-floor structure on the Upper West Side called International House. After dropping our bags, we made our way to the dining hall, where we got some food, took a seat, and engaged in conversation with fellow residents.
Beside me was an Iraqi man enrolled in an engineering program at an Ivy League institution. He inquired what I my profession was, and I explained that I had recently completed my studies with a degree in science and had been performing experiments involving microscopic analysis.
He mentioned that there was an microscopy facility at the university – right next door to the engineering department, which was why he was aware of it. He suggested that I ought to seek a position with them. I dismissed the idea, telling him that I was soon departing to Europe and, more critically, I didn’t have a US visa.
A day later I ventured out, returning to the canteen that after dark. The engineering student approached me and let me know 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 straight off explained to my host that I was without a work permit, so I was probably wasting her time.
In typical New York fashion – a city where opportunities abound – she responded: “We'll handle it. How soon can you begin?” I didn't board the aircraft to London.
I worked there for a trio of years. One of the benefits was that I was granted free tuition at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to earn a postgrad program in international relations.
I never saw that student again and I am unaware of his name, but his selfless gesture altered my destiny in so many ways. I lacked the bravery or self-assurance to reach out at an Ivy League university and ask for a job. Moreover, I had long dreamed to pursue education overseas, but could never have afforded it without that educational benefit.
Critically, that job in New York led me to a job in Zurich where I encountered my beautiful French husband, with whom I now have a family of four kids. It was a total sliding doors moment. That helpful person set me on a different course in life, and I’m eternally thankful.
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