During the closing decade of the 80s, I was beginning a backpacking trip to the European continent with a friend. Because my companion was interested in starting a postgraduate program in NYC, we had planned a 14-day stopover there on the way to London.
We got to the student accommodation, a large 10-storey building on the Manhattan's Upper West Side called International House. Once we unpacked, we made our way to the dining hall, where we picked up meals, took a seat, and started talking to other diners.
Beside me was an individual of Iraqi origin studying engineering at a prestigious New York university. He wanted to know what I did, and I told him 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 Columbia University – right next door to the engineering faculty, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He proposed that I ought to seek a job with them. I dismissed the idea, saying that I was heading off to Europe and, more critically, I lacked a US visa.
A day later I toured the city, going back to the cafeteria that night. The Iraqi student approached me and told me that he had arranged an interview for me with the director of the microscopy lab at Columbia. Given that he had made the arrangement, I attended the interview – but straight off explained to my interviewer that I was without a work permit, so I was probably wasting her time.
Reflecting the city's spirit – a metropolis where opportunities abound – she declared: “We'll handle it. How soon can you begin?” I never got on that flight to London.
I was employed there for 36 months. An advantage of the role was that I got free tuition at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to complete a master’s of international affairs.
We didn't cross paths after that and I can't recall his full name, but his incredible act of kindness changed my life in numerous aspects. I lacked the courage or self-belief to reach out at an Ivy League university and ask for a job. Additionally, I had consistently hoped to pursue education overseas, but lacked the financial means without that tuition waiver.
Critically, that job in New York led me to a position in Switzerland where I met my handsome spouse from France, with whom I am raising four wonderful sons and daughters. That encounter altered everything. That kind stranger redirected my path in life, and I’m eternally thankful.
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