In the final years of the 1980s, I was beginning a low-cost journey to Europe with a companion. Because my companion was considering starting a postgraduate program in NYC, we had booked a fortnight visit there on the way to London.
We got to the postgrad residence, a big ten-floor structure on the Upper West Side known as International House. Once we unpacked, we headed straight to the canteen, where we got some food, found a table, and started talking to other diners.
Adjacent to my seat was an Iraqi man enrolled in an engineering program at Columbia University. He inquired what I did for a living, and I shared that I had recently completed my studies with a scientific background and had been conducting research involving microscopic analysis.
He noted that there was an electron microscope unit at the university – close to the school of engineering, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He proposed that I should apply for a job with them. I chuckled at the suggestion, telling him that I was soon departing to Europe and, more critically, I didn’t have a US visa.
The following day I ventured out, 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 gone to the trouble, I went to the meeting – but immediately informed my host that I lacked the necessary visa, so I was probably wasting her time.
Reflecting the city's spirit – a metropolis where everything seems achievable – she declared: “That can be arranged. How soon can you begin?” I didn't board the aircraft to London.
I held that position for 36 months. A perk of the job was that I was granted no-cost classes at Columbia, and I took advantage to finish a graduate degree in global studies.
We didn't cross paths after that and I can't recall his identity, but his selfless gesture altered my destiny in so many ways. I would never have had the courage or self-assurance to approach someone at an prestigious college and ask for a job. And, I had always wanted to take classes in another country, but lacked the financial means without that educational benefit.
Critically, that role at the university paved the way for a job in Zurich where I met my beautiful French husband, with whom I am raising four amazing children. It was a total sliding doors moment. That benevolent individual set me on a different course in life, and I’m forever grateful.
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