During the closing decade of the 80s, I was embarking on a low-cost journey to the European continent with a friend. Since my companion was interested in starting a postgraduate program in New York, we had planned a 14-day stopover there en route to London.
We got to the student accommodation, a big ten-floor structure on the UWS named International House. After dropping our bags, we headed straight to the dining hall, where we picked up meals, took a seat, and began chatting with other diners.
Beside me was an Iraqi man pursuing an engineering degree at Columbia University. He inquired what I did, and I shared that I had newly finished with a science degree and had been conducting research using an electron microscope.
He noted that there was an research lab at Columbia University – close to the engineering department, which was why he was aware of it. He suggested that I consider applying for a role with them. I laughed it off, explaining that I was soon departing to Europe and, more critically, I did not possess a US visa.
The following day I went out exploring, going back to the cafeteria that after dark. The engineering student came up to me and told me that he had set up a meeting for me with the director of the microscopy lab at Columbia. Because he had gone to the trouble, I went to the meeting – but right away informed my interviewer that I didn’t have a visa, so I was probably wasting her time.
In typical New York fashion – a metropolis where everything seems achievable – she responded: “We'll handle it. How soon can you begin?” I didn't board the aircraft to London.
I was employed there for three years. One of the benefits was that I also received free tuition at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to complete a graduate degree in global studies.
I never saw that student again and I am unaware of his full name, but his incredible act of kindness altered my destiny in multiple respects. I would never have had the confidence or nerve to approach someone at an prestigious college and seek a position. Moreover, I had always wanted to study abroad, but could never have afforded it 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 am raising a family of four kids. That encounter altered everything. That helpful person changed my trajectory in life, and I’m eternally thankful.
Tell us about the Most Generous Act a Stranger Has Once Performed for You?
From making your day to altering your path, we are interested in random meetings that have left a lasting impression.
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