During the final years of the 1980s, I was embarking on a low-cost journey to Europe with a friend. Because my friend was interested in starting a postgraduate program in New York, we had arranged a 14-day stopover there on the way to London.
We arrived at the postgrad residence, a large 10-storey building on the Upper West Side named International House. Setting down our luggage, we made our way to the canteen, where we grabbed food, found a table, and engaged in conversation with people eating there.
Beside me was an Iraqi man 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 recently completed my studies with a science degree and had been conducting research involving microscopic analysis.
He mentioned that there was an microscopy facility at the university – close to the engineering department, which was why he was aware of it. He recommended that I consider applying for a job with them. I chuckled at the suggestion, saying that I was heading off to Europe and, more critically, I lacked a US visa.
The next day I ventured out, returning to the canteen that evening. The Iraqi student walked over to me and informed me that he had set up a meeting for me with the director of the microscopy lab at Columbia. Given that he had made the arrangement, I went to the meeting – but right away informed my host that I lacked the necessary visa, so I was probably wasting her time.
In typical New York fashion – a metropolis where everything seems achievable – she responded: “That can be arranged. What's your start date?” I never got on that flight to London.
I held that position for 36 months. One of the benefits was that I also received free tuition at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to earn a master’s of international affairs.
I never saw that student again and I can't recall his full name, but his incredible act of kindness altered my destiny in numerous aspects. I didn't possess the confidence or self-belief to contact anyone at an prestigious college and ask for a job. Moreover, I had long dreamed to pursue education overseas, but lacked the financial means without that educational benefit.
Perhaps most importantly, that job in New York resulted in a position in Switzerland where I met my beautiful French husband, with whom I now have a family of four kids. It was a total sliding doors moment. That helpful person changed my trajectory in life, and I’m forever grateful.
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