An Generosity of Strangers: How a Person I Only Just Encountered Helped Me Land the Role That Changed My Life

In the final years of the 1980s, I set out on a low-cost journey to the European continent with a travel partner. Because my friend was considering enrolling in graduate studies in the Big Apple, we had arranged a two-week stay there en route to London.

We arrived at the graduate housing, a sizeable ten-floor structure on the Manhattan's Upper West Side named International House. Setting down our luggage, we went directly to the cafeteria, where we grabbed food, took a seat, and started talking to fellow residents.

Adjacent to my seat was an Iraqi man enrolled in an engineering program at an Ivy League institution. He wanted to know what I did, and I told him that I had just graduated with a degree in science and had been performing experiments with electron microscopy.

He noted that there was an microscopy facility at the university – close to the engineering faculty, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He recommended that I ought to seek a job with them. I dismissed the idea, telling him that I was heading off to Europe and, additionally, I did not possess a US visa.

The next day I went out exploring, returning to the canteen that evening. The Iraqi student walked over to me and told me that he had set up a meeting for me with the leader of the research team at Columbia. Given that he had gone to the trouble, I went to the meeting – but immediately informed my interviewer that I lacked the necessary visa, so I was likely not a suitable candidate.

Reflecting the city's spirit – a place where everything seems achievable – she said: “That can be arranged. What's your start date?” I didn't board the aircraft to London.

I held that position for a trio of years. One of the benefits was that I got no-cost classes at Columbia, and I seized the chance to complete a graduate degree in global studies.

I never saw that student again and I am unaware of his name, but his incredible act of kindness changed my life in numerous aspects. I lacked the confidence or nerve to contact anyone at an prestigious college and seek a position. And, I had consistently hoped to take classes in another country, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that educational benefit.

Perhaps most importantly, that job in New York paved the way for a position in Switzerland where I encountered my handsome spouse from France, with whom I currently share four amazing children. That encounter altered everything. That kind stranger set me on a different course in life, and I’m forever grateful.

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