During the late 1980s, I was embarking on a backpacking trip to the European continent with a friend. Because my travel mate was considering starting a postgraduate program in NYC, we had arranged a two-week stay there on the way to London.
We reached the postgrad residence, a large ten-floor structure on the Manhattan's Upper West Side known as International House. After dropping our bags, we made our way to the cafeteria, where we got some food, found a table, and engaged in conversation with people eating there.
Sitting next to me was an Iraqi man enrolled in an engineering program at Columbia University. He wanted to know what I did, and I explained that I had newly finished with a scientific background and had been conducting research involving microscopic analysis.
He noted that there was an microscopy facility at Columbia University – adjacent to the engineering department, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He proposed that I should apply for a job with them. I dismissed the idea, telling him that I was soon departing to Europe and, additionally, I did not possess a US visa.
The next day I ventured out, coming back to the dining hall that after dark. The man from Iraq approached me and told me that he had organized a discussion for me with the head of the electron microscope unit at Columbia. Since he had made the arrangement, I went to the meeting – but right away explained to my host that I was without a work permit, so I was probably wasting her time.
Reflecting the city's spirit – a metropolis where anything feels possible – she responded: “We can make that happen. When can you start?” I didn't board the aircraft to London.
I held that position for three years. A perk of the job was that I got no-cost classes at Columbia, and I took advantage to finish a master’s of international affairs.
I lost touch with him and I don’t even know his identity, but his incredible act of kindness changed my life in so many ways. I would never have had the bravery or self-belief to approach someone at an prestigious college and request employment. Additionally, I had always wanted to take classes in another country, but lacked the financial means without that educational benefit.
What's more, that job in New York resulted in a role in Europe where I encountered my beautiful French husband, with whom I now have a family of four kids. That encounter altered everything. That benevolent individual changed my trajectory in life, and I’m eternally thankful.
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