During the final years of the 1980s, I set out on a low-cost journey to the European continent with a friend. Since my travel mate was considering enrolling in graduate studies in NYC, we had booked a 14-day stopover there on the way to London.
We got to the student accommodation, a sizeable multi-story edifice on the Upper West Side named International House. After dropping our bags, we made our way to the dining hall, where we picked up meals, sat down, and began chatting with people eating there.
Adjacent to my seat was an individual of Iraqi origin pursuing an engineering degree at a prestigious New York university. He asked me what I did for a living, and I told him that I had newly finished with a degree in science and had been performing experiments using an electron microscope.
He pointed out that there was an microscopy facility at the institution – adjacent to the engineering department, which was how he knew about it. He recommended that I consider applying for a role with them. I dismissed the idea, telling him that I was soon departing to Europe and, additionally, I did not possess a US visa.
The following day I went out exploring, coming back to the dining hall that night. The man from Iraq approached me and let me know 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 attended the interview – but straight off informed my interviewer that I lacked the necessary visa, so I was unable to accept the role.
As is common in NYC – a metropolis where opportunities abound – she declared: “That can be arranged. What's your start date?” I missed my plane to London.
I held that position 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 postgrad program in international relations.
I never saw that student again and I am unaware of his identity, but his remarkable generosity altered my destiny in numerous aspects. I would never have had the bravery or self-belief to contact anyone at an prestigious college and request employment. Moreover, I had long dreamed to study abroad, but could never have afforded it without that educational benefit.
Perhaps most importantly, that role at the university resulted in a job in Zurich where I got to know my handsome spouse from France, with whom I currently share four wonderful sons and daughters. This was a pivotal life event. That helpful person changed my trajectory in life, and I’m eternally thankful.
Can you recall the Kindest Gesture a Stranger Has Once Performed for You?
From brightening your mood to transforming your future, we are interested in random meetings that have stuck with you.
We invite you to tell us if you are an adult, anonymously if you wish. The stories you tell are confidential, and are solely for the purpose of this feature.
