In the final years of the 1980s, I was embarking on a low-cost journey to Europe with a travel partner. Since my companion was exploring enrolling in graduate studies in NYC, we had arranged a fortnight visit there en route to London.
We reached the postgrad residence, a large 10-storey building on the Manhattan's Upper West Side known as International House. After dropping our bags, we headed straight to the dining hall, where we grabbed food, found a table, and engaged in conversation with people eating there.
Sitting next to me was an individual of Iraqi origin enrolled in an engineering program at Columbia University. He asked me what I did, and I told him that I had recently completed my studies with a science degree and had been conducting research with electron microscopy.
He noted that there was an electron microscope unit at the institution – adjacent to the engineering faculty, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He recommended that I should apply for a position with them. I laughed it off, saying that I was about to fly to Europe and, more critically, I didn’t have a US visa.
A day later I toured the city, coming back to the dining hall that night. The Iraqi student came up to me and let me know that he had set up a meeting for me with the head of the electron microscope unit at Columbia. Since he had gone to the trouble, I attended the interview – but immediately told my host that I was without a work permit, so I was probably wasting her time.
As is common in NYC – a place where everything seems achievable – she said: “That can be arranged. How soon can you begin?” I missed my plane to London.
I worked there for three years. One of the benefits was that I was granted no-cost classes at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to complete a master’s of international affairs.
I never saw that student again and I am unaware of his name, but his incredible act of kindness changed my life in multiple respects. I lacked the bravery or self-belief to reach out at an Ivy League university and seek a position. And, I had consistently hoped to study abroad, but lacked the financial means without that free tuition.
Critically, that job in New York resulted in a job in Zurich where I got to know my beautiful French husband, with whom I currently share a family of four kids. That encounter altered everything. That kind stranger set me on a different course in life, and I’m always appreciative.
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