During the final years of the 1980s, I set out on a backpacking trip to Europe with a friend. Because my friend was interested in enrolling in graduate studies in New York, we had booked a fortnight visit there en route to London.
We arrived at the graduate housing, a sizeable ten-floor structure on the UWS known as International House. Once we unpacked, we made our way to the canteen, where we got some food, found a table, and began chatting with other diners.
Beside me was an gentleman from Iraq pursuing an engineering degree at an Ivy League institution. He inquired what I did for a living, and I explained that I had just graduated with a science degree and had been performing experiments with electron microscopy.
He pointed out that there was an research lab at Columbia University – right next door to the school of engineering, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He suggested that I consider applying for a role with them. I laughed it off, telling him that I was heading off to Europe and, even more importantly, I did not possess a US visa.
The following day I went out exploring, coming back to the dining hall that after dark. The man from Iraq walked over to me and informed me that he had arranged an interview for me with the leader of the research team at Columbia. Because he had taken the effort, I attended the interview – but straight off told my interviewer that I was without a work permit, so I was probably wasting her time.
Reflecting the city's spirit – a city where anything feels possible – she declared: “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. A perk of the job was that I was granted no-cost classes at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to complete a graduate degree in global studies.
I lost touch with him and I am unaware of his name, but his selfless gesture transformed my future in so many ways. I would never have had the courage or nerve 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 free tuition.
Critically, that role at the university paved the way for a job in Zurich where I got to know my beautiful French husband, with whom I currently share four wonderful sons and daughters. It was a total sliding doors moment. That helpful person set me on a different course in life, and I’m always appreciative.
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