In the final years of the 1980s, I was embarking on a budget travel adventure to the European continent with a friend. Because my travel mate was exploring enrolling in graduate studies in the Big Apple, we had booked a two-week stay there before heading to London.
We got to the student accommodation, a large multi-story edifice on the UWS named International House. Once we unpacked, we made our way to the canteen, where we picked up meals, sat down, and started talking to 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 my profession was, and I told him that I had just graduated with a scientific background and had been working on studies using an electron microscope.
He pointed out that there was an research lab at the university – adjacent to the engineering faculty, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He proposed that I ought to seek a role with them. I laughed it off, explaining that I was about to fly to Europe and, even more importantly, I did not possess a US visa.
The next day I toured the city, going back to the cafeteria that evening. The man from Iraq approached me and informed me that he had organized a discussion for me with the leader of the research team at Columbia. Since he had gone to the trouble, I went to the meeting – but straight off informed my interviewer that I was without a work permit, so I was likely not a suitable candidate.
Reflecting the city's spirit – a city where opportunities abound – she said: “We'll handle it. What's your start date?” I never got on that flight to London.
I worked there for three years. An advantage of the role was that I also received free tuition at Columbia, and I seized the chance to complete a graduate degree in global studies.
We didn't cross paths after that and I don’t even know his name, but his remarkable generosity altered my destiny in so many ways. I would never have had the bravery or nerve to approach someone at an Ivy League university and ask for a job. Moreover, I had always wanted to study abroad, but could never have afforded it without that educational benefit.
What's more, that job in New York resulted in a job in Zurich where I met my handsome spouse from France, with whom I now have four wonderful sons and daughters. It was a total sliding doors moment. That helpful person redirected my path in life, and I’m forever grateful.
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