An Compassion of People We Don't Know: The Way a Person I Barely Knew Helped Me Secure the Position That Altered My Path

During the late 1980s, I was beginning a budget travel adventure to the European continent with a friend. Since my companion was considering starting a postgraduate program in New York, we had arranged a fortnight visit there en route to London.

We reached the graduate housing, a big ten-floor structure on the Upper West Side called International House. Setting down our luggage, we went directly to the cafeteria, where we got some food, sat down, and engaged in conversation with fellow residents.

Sitting next to me was an individual of Iraqi origin studying engineering at Columbia University. He asked me what I did for a living, and I explained that I had recently completed my studies with a scientific background and had been conducting research with electron microscopy.

He noted that there was an electron microscope unit at the institution – right next door to the engineering faculty, which was how he knew about it. He suggested that I should apply for a job with them. I dismissed the idea, explaining that I was heading off to Europe and, more critically, I lacked a US visa.

A day later I ventured out, returning to the canteen that evening. The Iraqi student approached me and let me know that he had set up a meeting for me with the leader of the research team at Columbia. Since he had taken the effort, I attended the interview – but straight off informed my interviewer that I was without a work permit, so I was unable to accept the role.

As is common in NYC – a place where opportunities abound – she declared: “That can be arranged. What's your start date?” I never got on that flight to London.

I worked there for 36 months. A perk of the job was that I got no-cost classes at Columbia, and I seized the chance to earn a master’s of international affairs.

I lost touch with him and I can't recall his name, but his selfless gesture altered my destiny in multiple respects. I didn't possess the bravery or nerve to contact anyone at an elite institution and ask for a job. Additionally, I had long dreamed to pursue education overseas, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that free tuition.

What's more, that role at the university led me to a job in Zurich where I got to know my beautiful French husband, with whom I currently share 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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