During the final years of the 1980s, I was embarking on a budget travel adventure to the European continent with a companion. Because my companion was exploring enrolling in graduate studies in New York, we had booked a 14-day stopover there en route to London.
We got to the graduate housing, a large 10-storey building on the Manhattan's Upper West Side called International House. Once we unpacked, we went directly to the cafeteria, where we grabbed food, found a table, and started talking to fellow residents.
Beside me was an Iraqi man enrolled in an engineering program at an Ivy League institution. He inquired what I my profession was, and I shared that I had newly finished with a degree in science and had been performing experiments using an electron microscope.
He mentioned that there was an electron microscope unit at the institution – adjacent to the engineering department, which was how he knew about it. He recommended that I ought to seek a role with them. I chuckled at the suggestion, saying that I was soon departing to Europe and, additionally, I lacked a US visa.
The next day I went out exploring, returning to the canteen that after dark. The man from Iraq approached me and told me that he had arranged an interview for me with the leader of the research team at Columbia. Because he had gone to the trouble, I went to the meeting – but right away explained to my prospective employer that I lacked the necessary visa, so I was unable to accept the role.
As is common in NYC – a city where anything feels possible – she declared: “We'll handle it. How soon can you begin?” I missed my plane to London.
I held that position for 36 months. An advantage of the role was that I was granted free tuition at Columbia, and I seized the chance to finish a postgrad program in international relations.
I never saw that student again and I can't recall his identity, but his incredible act of kindness transformed my future in numerous aspects. I lacked the courage or self-belief 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 free tuition.
Perhaps most importantly, that gig at Columbia led me to a position in Switzerland where I met my handsome spouse from France, with whom I now have four wonderful sons and daughters. It was a total sliding doors moment. That benevolent individual redirected my path in life, and I’m forever grateful.
Can you recall the Most Generous Act a Stranger Has Shown for You?
Whether it's making your day to transforming your future, we want to hear about chance encounters that have remained in your memory.
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