The Compassion of Unknown Individuals: How a Person I Only Just Encountered Assisted Me Obtain the Position That Changed My Life

During the late 1980s, I set out on a backpacking trip to Europe with a travel partner. Since my friend was considering enrolling in graduate studies in the Big Apple, we had booked a fortnight visit there on the way to London.

We reached the student accommodation, a large multi-story edifice on the Manhattan's Upper West Side called International House. Setting down our luggage, we went directly to the canteen, where we grabbed food, found a table, and engaged in conversation with fellow residents.

Adjacent to my seat was an gentleman from Iraq enrolled in an engineering program at an Ivy League institution. He wanted to know what I did, and I explained that I had newly finished with a scientific background and had been working on studies with electron microscopy.

He noted that there was an research lab at Columbia University – adjacent to the engineering department, which was how he knew about it. He recommended that I ought to seek a position with them. I chuckled at the suggestion, telling him that I was soon departing to Europe and, even more importantly, I lacked a US visa.

A day later I ventured out, going back to the cafeteria that after dark. The man from Iraq came up to me and told me that he had arranged an interview for me with the leader of the research team at Columbia. Since he had gone to the trouble, I went to the meeting – but straight off informed my prospective employer that I was without a work permit, so I was likely not a suitable candidate.

As is common in NYC – a place where everything seems achievable – she responded: “We'll handle it. When can you start?” I didn't board the aircraft to London.

I was employed there for a trio of years. A perk of the job was that I also received no-cost classes at Columbia, and I seized the chance to earn a graduate degree in global studies.

We didn't cross paths after that and I don’t even know his identity, but his selfless gesture changed my life in numerous aspects. I lacked the confidence or nerve to approach someone at an prestigious college and request employment. And, I had consistently hoped to study abroad, but could never have afforded it without that free tuition.

What's more, that gig at Columbia resulted in a job in Zurich where I met my beautiful French husband, with whom I am raising four wonderful sons and daughters. This was a pivotal life event. That benevolent individual changed my trajectory in life, and I’m always appreciative.

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