The Compassion of Strangers: The Way a Gentleman I Barely Knew Supported Me Land the Job That Changed My Life

In the late 1980s, I was beginning a budget travel adventure to the European continent with a friend. Because my companion was interested in pursuing a master’s degree in New York, we had arranged a 14-day stopover there en route to London.

We arrived at the graduate housing, a big multi-story edifice on the Manhattan's Upper West Side called International House. After dropping our bags, we went directly to the cafeteria, where we got some food, took a seat, and started talking to other diners.

Sitting next to me was an individual of Iraqi origin studying engineering at Columbia University. He asked me what I did, and I told him that I had newly finished with a scientific background and had been conducting research with electron microscopy.

He mentioned that there was an microscopy facility at the institution – close to the engineering department, which was why he was aware of it. He recommended that I consider applying for a job with them. I dismissed the idea, telling him that I was about to fly to Europe and, more critically, I didn’t have a US visa.

A day later I ventured out, going back to the cafeteria that after dark. The man from Iraq approached me and informed me that he had organized a discussion 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 explained to my interviewer that I was without a work permit, so I was unable to accept the role.

In typical New York fashion – a city where everything seems achievable – she responded: “That can be arranged. How soon can you begin?” I never got on that flight to London.

I worked there for a trio of years. A perk of the job was that I got complimentary education at Columbia, and I seized the chance to finish a master’s of international affairs.

We didn't cross paths after that and I can't recall his name, but his remarkable generosity altered my destiny in so many ways. I didn't possess the bravery or self-assurance to reach out at an elite institution and seek a position. Moreover, I had always wanted to pursue education overseas, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that educational benefit.

Perhaps most importantly, that role at the university led me to a position in Switzerland where I got to know my beautiful French husband, with whom I am raising four amazing children. That encounter altered everything. That helpful person changed my trajectory in life, and I’m eternally thankful.

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