During the final years of the 1980s, I was beginning a budget travel adventure to the European continent with a friend. Because my companion was interested in pursuing a master’s degree in NYC, we had planned a 14-day stopover there en route to London.
We reached the postgrad residence, a sizeable 10-storey building on the Upper West Side called International House. Once we unpacked, we headed straight to the cafeteria, where we picked up meals, sat down, and engaged in conversation with people eating there.
Sitting next to me was an gentleman from Iraq enrolled in an engineering program at a prestigious New York university. He wanted to know what I did for a living, and I explained that I had recently completed my studies with a scientific background and had been conducting research with electron microscopy.
He noted that there was an microscopy facility at Columbia University – close to the school of engineering, which was how he knew about it. He suggested that I should apply for a position with them. I dismissed the idea, saying that I was soon departing to Europe and, additionally, I didn’t have a US visa.
The following day I went out exploring, going back to the cafeteria that evening. The man from Iraq approached me and told me that he had organized a discussion for me with the leader of the research team at Columbia. Given that he had taken the effort, I went to the meeting – but immediately told my interviewer that I was without a work permit, so I was probably wasting her time.
Reflecting the city's spirit – a metropolis where anything feels possible – she said: “We can make that happen. When can you start?” I didn't board the aircraft to London.
I was employed there for three years. A perk of the job was that I was granted free tuition at Columbia, and I seized the chance to earn a graduate degree in global studies.
We didn't cross paths after that and I am unaware of his name, but his selfless gesture altered my destiny in multiple respects. I would never have had the courage or nerve to approach someone at an prestigious college and seek a position. Moreover, I had long dreamed to take classes in another country, but lacked the financial means without that free tuition.
Perhaps most importantly, that role at the university resulted in a job in Zurich where I got to know my handsome spouse from France, with whom I now have four wonderful sons and daughters. 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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