During the late 1980s, I set out on a backpacking trip to Europe with a companion. Since my friend was considering pursuing a master’s degree in New York, we had planned a two-week stay there before heading to London.
We reached the graduate housing, a big ten-floor structure on the Manhattan's Upper West Side known as International House. Once we unpacked, we made our way to the canteen, where we got some food, found a table, and started talking to fellow residents.
Adjacent to my seat was an gentleman from Iraq enrolled in an engineering program at an Ivy League institution. He wanted to know what I my profession was, and I explained that I had just graduated with a degree in science and had been working on studies with electron microscopy.
He noted that there was an microscopy facility at the institution – close to the engineering department, which was how he knew about it. He recommended that I should apply for a job with them. I dismissed the idea, saying that I was about to fly to Europe and, more critically, I did not possess a US visa.
A day later I toured the city, going back to the cafeteria that night. The man from Iraq came up to me and let me know that he had organized a discussion for me with the director of the microscopy lab at Columbia. Since he had gone to the trouble, I showed up for the discussion – but straight off told my interviewer that I lacked the necessary visa, so I was unable to accept the role.
In typical New York fashion – a city where anything feels possible – she responded: “We'll handle it. When can you start?” I never got on that flight to London.
I worked there for three years. A perk of the job was that I also received complimentary education at Columbia, and I seized the chance to complete a master’s of international affairs.
We didn't cross paths after that and I don’t even know his identity, but his selfless gesture transformed my future in numerous aspects. I didn't possess the courage or nerve to contact anyone at an Ivy League university and ask for a job. And, I had long dreamed to take classes in another country, but could never have afforded it without that educational benefit.
What's more, that job in New York resulted in a position in Switzerland where I encountered my handsome spouse from France, with whom I now have four wonderful sons and daughters. It was a total sliding doors moment. That benevolent individual redirected my path in life, and I’m always appreciative.
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