The Compassion of Unknown Individuals: The Way a Man I Had Just Met Helped Me Land the Position That Altered My Path

In the final years of the 1980s, I was embarking on a budget travel adventure to Europe with a friend. Because my travel mate was exploring starting a postgraduate program in New York, we had planned a 14-day stopover there before heading to London.

We got to the postgrad residence, a large ten-floor structure on the UWS called International House. Setting down our luggage, we made our way to the cafeteria, where we grabbed food, sat down, and began chatting with other diners.

Adjacent to my seat was an individual of Iraqi origin pursuing an engineering degree at a prestigious New York university. He asked me what I did, and I shared 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 microscopy facility at the university – right next door to the school of engineering, which was how he knew about it. He suggested that I should apply for a position with them. I dismissed the idea, saying that I was heading off to Europe and, additionally, I lacked a US visa.

A day later I went out exploring, going back to the cafeteria that after dark. The Iraqi student came up to me and let me know that he had arranged an interview for me with the head of the electron microscope unit at Columbia. Given that he had made the arrangement, I showed up for the discussion – but straight off told my interviewer that I was without a work permit, so I was probably wasting her time.

In typical New York fashion – a metropolis where opportunities abound – she declared: “That can be arranged. How soon can you begin?” I didn't board the aircraft to London.

I was employed there for three years. A perk of the job was that I also received free tuition at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to complete a graduate degree in global studies.

We didn't cross paths after that and I don’t even know his name, but his remarkable generosity changed my life in multiple respects. I lacked the bravery or nerve to approach someone at an Ivy League university and request employment. Additionally, I had always wanted to pursue education overseas, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that educational benefit.

What's more, that job in New York resulted in a job in Zurich where I met my beautiful French husband, with whom I now have four amazing children. That encounter altered everything. That helpful person redirected my path in life, and I’m forever grateful.

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