In the closing decade of the 80s, I set out on a budget travel adventure to Europe with a companion. Because my friend was considering enrolling in graduate studies in the Big Apple, we had arranged a two-week stay there on the way to London.
We arrived at the postgrad residence, a big multi-story edifice on the UWS called International House. After dropping our bags, we headed straight to the canteen, where we picked up meals, found a table, and began chatting with people eating there.
Beside me was an gentleman from Iraq studying engineering at Columbia University. He inquired what I did for a living, and I told him that I had just graduated with a science degree and had been working on studies using an electron microscope.
He pointed out that there was an research lab at the institution – adjacent to the school of engineering, which was how he knew about it. He suggested that I should apply for a role with them. I chuckled at the suggestion, saying that I was soon departing to Europe and, even more importantly, I did not possess a US visa.
A day later I toured the city, coming back to the dining hall that after dark. The man from Iraq walked over to me and informed me that he had set up a meeting for me with the head of the electron microscope unit at Columbia. Since he had gone to the trouble, I showed up for the discussion – but right away told my host that I didn’t have a visa, so I was probably wasting her time.
In typical New York fashion – a place where everything seems achievable – she said: “We'll handle it. When can you start?” I never got on that flight to London.
I was employed there for 36 months. A perk of the job was that I got free tuition at Columbia, and I seized the chance to complete a graduate degree in global studies.
I lost touch with him and I am unaware of his name, but his incredible act of kindness transformed my future in multiple respects. I didn't possess the confidence or self-belief to approach someone at an Ivy League university and ask for a job. And, I had consistently hoped to take classes in another country, but lacked the financial means without that tuition waiver.
Perhaps most importantly, that job in New York led me to a position in Switzerland where I got to know my beautiful French husband, with whom I now have four amazing children. It was a total sliding doors moment. That kind stranger changed my trajectory in life, and I’m forever grateful.
Can you recall the Most Generous Act a Someone You Didn't Know Has Once Performed for You?
Whether it's cheering you up to transforming your future, we are interested in unexpected interactions that have stuck with you.
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