During the closing decade of the 80s, I set out on a backpacking trip to the European continent with a companion. Because my companion was interested in starting a postgraduate program in New York, we had arranged a 14-day stopover there en route to London.
We arrived at the student accommodation, a sizeable 10-storey building on the Upper West Side known as International House. Once we unpacked, we made our way to the cafeteria, where we grabbed food, sat down, and began chatting with other diners.
Sitting next to me was an Iraqi man pursuing an engineering degree at Columbia University. He inquired what I did, and I told him that I had recently completed my studies with a scientific background and had been working on studies with electron microscopy.
He mentioned that there was an electron microscope unit at the institution – adjacent to the engineering department, 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 heading off to Europe and, additionally, I lacked a US visa.
A day later I ventured out, coming back to the dining hall that after dark. The engineering student approached me and told me that he had organized a discussion for me with the leader of the research team at Columbia. Because he had made the arrangement, I went to the meeting – but immediately told my prospective employer that I didn’t have a visa, so I was unable to accept the role.
Reflecting the city's spirit – a city where everything seems achievable – she said: “That can be arranged. When can you start?” I didn't board the aircraft to London.
I was employed there for a trio of years. One of the benefits was that I was granted complimentary education at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to earn a graduate degree in global studies.
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 would never have had the bravery or self-assurance to contact anyone at an prestigious college and ask for a job. Moreover, I had always wanted to take classes in another country, but could never have afforded it without that tuition waiver.
What's more, that job in New York resulted in a job in Zurich where I met my beautiful French husband, with whom I now have four wonderful sons and daughters. That encounter altered everything. That benevolent individual changed my trajectory in life, and I’m eternally thankful.
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