In the closing decade of the 80s, I set out on a low-cost journey to the European continent with a friend. Because my companion was interested in starting a postgraduate program in NYC, we had booked a two-week stay there on the way to London.
We reached the graduate housing, a large ten-floor structure on the Upper West Side named International House. Once we unpacked, we headed straight to the cafeteria, where we grabbed food, sat down, and engaged in conversation with people eating there.
Beside me was an individual of Iraqi origin pursuing an engineering degree at an Ivy League institution. He inquired what I did for a living, and I shared that I had newly finished with a scientific background and had been performing experiments with electron microscopy.
He noted 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 proposed that I should apply for a job with them. I dismissed the idea, explaining that I was about to fly to Europe and, additionally, I did not possess a US visa.
A day later I toured the city, going back to the cafeteria that evening. The Iraqi student approached me and told me that he had organized a discussion for me with the leader of the research team at Columbia. Since he had made the arrangement, I attended the interview – but straight off informed my prospective employer that I lacked the necessary visa, so I was unable to accept the role.
Reflecting the city's spirit – a place where anything feels possible – she said: “That can be arranged. When can you start?” I didn't board the aircraft to London.
I was employed there for 36 months. A perk of the job was that I got no-cost classes at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to earn a postgrad program in international relations.
We didn't cross paths after that and I can't recall his full name, but his incredible act of kindness transformed my future in numerous aspects. I would never have had the courage or self-assurance to approach someone at an elite institution and ask for a job. Moreover, I had long dreamed to take classes in another country, but lacked the financial means without that free tuition.
What's more, that job in New York paved the way for a position in Switzerland where I met my beautiful French husband, with whom I now have four amazing children. It was a total sliding doors moment. That benevolent individual redirected my path in life, and I’m forever grateful.
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