In the late 1980s, I set out on a low-cost journey to Europe with a companion. Because my travel mate was exploring starting a postgraduate program in NYC, we had arranged a fortnight visit there en route to London.
We arrived at the postgrad residence, a sizeable 10-storey building on the Manhattan's Upper West Side called International House. After dropping our bags, we made our way to the cafeteria, where we picked up meals, sat down, and engaged in conversation with fellow residents.
Adjacent to my seat was an individual of Iraqi origin pursuing an engineering degree at a prestigious New York university. He wanted to know what I my profession was, and I explained that I had recently completed my studies with a science degree and had been conducting research with electron microscopy.
He pointed out that there was an electron microscope unit at the university – adjacent to the school of engineering, which was how he knew about it. He recommended that I ought to seek a job with them. I laughed it off, explaining that I was about to fly to Europe and, more critically, I did not possess a US visa.
The following day I went out exploring, returning to the canteen that after dark. The man from Iraq walked over to me and informed me that he had organized a discussion for me with the director of the microscopy lab at Columbia. Since he had taken the effort, I went to the meeting – 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 place where everything seems achievable – she said: “We'll handle it. When can you start?” I missed my plane to London.
I held that position for three years. A perk of the job was that I also received free tuition at Columbia, and I seized the chance to finish a postgrad program in international relations.
I lost touch with him and I can't recall his identity, but his remarkable generosity altered my destiny in so many ways. I didn't possess the courage or self-assurance to contact anyone at an Ivy League university and ask for a job. Additionally, I had long dreamed to pursue education overseas, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that educational benefit.
Critically, that role at the university resulted in a role in Europe where I encountered my handsome spouse from France, with whom I now have four wonderful sons and daughters. That encounter altered everything. That kind stranger set me on a different course in life, and I’m eternally thankful.
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