In the closing decade of the 80s, I was beginning a budget travel adventure to the European continent with a companion. Since my travel mate was interested in pursuing a master’s degree in the Big Apple, we had planned a fortnight visit there en route to London.
We arrived at the postgrad residence, a sizeable multi-story edifice on the Manhattan's Upper West Side known as International House. After dropping our bags, we went directly to the cafeteria, where we picked up meals, sat down, and started talking to people eating there.
Beside me was an Iraqi man enrolled in an engineering program at Columbia University. He inquired what I my profession was, and I told him that I had newly finished with a scientific background and had been working on studies with electron microscopy.
He mentioned that there was an microscopy facility at the institution – adjacent to the engineering faculty, which was how he knew about it. He suggested that I ought to seek a role with them. I laughed it off, explaining that I was soon departing to Europe and, additionally, I did not possess a US visa.
The following day I toured the city, coming back to the dining hall that evening. The man from Iraq came up to me and informed me that he had arranged an interview for me with the head of the electron microscope unit at Columbia. Because he had taken the effort, I showed up for the discussion – but right away told my interviewer that I was without a work permit, so I was probably wasting her time.
In typical New York fashion – a place where anything feels possible – she said: “We can make that happen. What's your start date?” I never got on that flight to London.
I held that position for three years. An advantage of the role was that I also received no-cost classes at Columbia, and I seized the chance to earn a master’s of international affairs.
We didn't cross paths after that and I don’t even know his full name, but his selfless gesture transformed my future in multiple respects. I would never have had the bravery or self-belief to contact anyone at an prestigious college and request employment. And, I had always wanted to study abroad, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that free tuition.
Critically, that job in New York resulted in a role in Europe where I encountered my handsome spouse from France, with whom I am raising 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 cheering you up to transforming your future, we want to hear about random meetings that have stuck with you.
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