In the late 1980s, I was embarking on a low-cost journey to the European continent with a friend. Since my friend was considering pursuing a master’s degree in NYC, we had arranged a two-week stay there before heading to London.
We reached the student accommodation, a big ten-floor structure on the Manhattan's Upper West Side called International House. After dropping our bags, we headed straight to the dining hall, where we got some food, took a seat, and engaged in conversation with people eating there.
Beside me was an individual of Iraqi origin studying engineering at a prestigious New York university. He inquired what I did, and I explained that I had newly finished with a degree in science and had been working on studies with electron microscopy.
He pointed out that there was an research lab at the university – close to the school of engineering, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He recommended that I consider applying for a job with them. I laughed it off, saying that I was heading off to Europe and, more critically, I did not possess a US visa.
A day later I toured the city, coming back to the dining hall that after dark. The Iraqi student approached me and told me that he had set up a meeting for me with the leader of the research team at Columbia. Because he had taken the effort, I went to the meeting – but immediately explained to my host that I was without a work permit, so I was likely not a suitable candidate.
Reflecting the city's spirit – a metropolis where everything seems achievable – she declared: “We'll handle it. What's your start date?” I never got on that flight to London.
I held that position for three years. A perk of the job was that I also received free tuition at Columbia, and I seized the chance to finish a master’s of international affairs.
I never saw that student again and I don’t even know his full name, but his selfless gesture transformed my future in multiple respects. I didn't possess the bravery or nerve to approach someone at an prestigious college and request employment. Additionally, I had consistently hoped to study abroad, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that educational benefit.
Critically, that role at the university resulted in a job in Zurich where I encountered my beautiful French husband, with whom I am raising four amazing children. It was a total sliding doors moment. That kind stranger changed my trajectory in life, and I’m eternally thankful.
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