In the closing decade of the 80s, I set out on a budget travel adventure to Europe with a companion. Since my travel mate was interested in enrolling in graduate studies in New York, we had arranged a two-week stay there before heading to London.
We got to the graduate housing, a big ten-floor structure on the Upper West Side called International House. Setting down our luggage, we headed straight to the dining hall, where we got some food, sat down, and started talking to other diners.
Adjacent to my seat was an individual of Iraqi origin studying engineering at an Ivy League institution. He wanted to know what I did for a living, and I explained that I had newly finished with a scientific background and had been performing experiments using an electron microscope.
He noted that there was an microscopy facility at the institution – adjacent to the school of engineering, which was why he was aware of it. He suggested that I should apply for a role with them. I dismissed the idea, telling him that I was about to fly to Europe and, more critically, I did not possess a US visa.
The next day I went out exploring, returning to the canteen that evening. The man from Iraq came up to me and told me that he had organized a discussion for me with the director of the microscopy lab at Columbia. Since he had made the arrangement, I went to the meeting – but straight off informed my host that I didn’t have a visa, so I was probably wasting her time.
Reflecting the city's spirit – a place where anything feels possible – she said: “We can make that happen. When can you start?” I didn't board the aircraft to London.
I was employed there for three years. One of the benefits was that I got no-cost classes at Columbia, and I took advantage to complete a graduate degree in global studies.
We didn't cross paths after that and I am unaware of his identity, but his remarkable generosity transformed my future in multiple respects. I would never have had the bravery or self-belief to contact anyone at an prestigious college and seek a position. Additionally, I had consistently hoped to take classes in another country, but lacked the financial means without that tuition waiver.
Perhaps most importantly, that role at the university resulted in a job in Zurich where I got to know my wonderful partner, with whom I now have a family of four kids. It was a total sliding doors moment. That kind stranger redirected my path in life, and I’m forever grateful.
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