In the late 1980s, I set out on a backpacking trip to the European continent with a friend. Since my companion was interested in enrolling in graduate studies in NYC, we had planned a fortnight visit there before heading to London.
We arrived at the graduate housing, a big ten-floor structure on the Manhattan's Upper West Side named International House. Once we unpacked, we went directly to the dining hall, where we got some food, took a seat, and engaged in conversation with fellow residents.
Sitting next to me was an gentleman from Iraq pursuing an engineering degree at an Ivy League institution. He inquired what I my profession was, and I told him that I had newly finished with a degree in science and had been working on studies involving microscopic analysis.
He mentioned that there was an electron microscope unit at Columbia University – right next door to the engineering faculty, which was how he knew about it. He suggested that I ought to seek a role with them. I laughed it off, saying that I was soon departing to Europe and, more critically, I didn’t have a US visa.
A day later I went out exploring, coming back to the dining hall that night. The engineering student came up to me and informed me that he had arranged an interview for me with the leader of the research team at Columbia. Since he had taken the effort, I went to the meeting – but straight off informed my prospective employer 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 said: “We'll handle it. What's your start date?” I never got on that flight to London.
I was employed there for a trio of years. A perk of the job was that I was granted no-cost classes at Columbia, and I took advantage to earn a postgrad program in international relations.
I lost touch with him and I am unaware of his name, but his selfless gesture transformed my future in multiple respects. I didn't possess the confidence or self-assurance to approach someone at an prestigious college and request employment. Additionally, I had long dreamed to take classes in another country, but lacked the financial means without that tuition waiver.
What's more, that role at the university resulted in a role in Europe where I met my handsome spouse from France, with whom I am raising a family of four kids. It was a total sliding doors moment. That kind stranger changed my trajectory in life, and I’m always appreciative.
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