During the late 1980s, I was embarking on a budget travel adventure to the European continent with a friend. Since my companion was considering pursuing a master’s degree in NYC, we had booked a fortnight visit there en route to London.
We got to the graduate housing, a large 10-storey building on the Upper West Side known as International House. Once we unpacked, we made our way to the dining hall, where we got some food, sat down, and engaged in conversation with fellow residents.
Sitting next to me was an individual of Iraqi origin enrolled in an engineering program at an Ivy League institution. He asked me what I did, and I told him that I had newly finished with a scientific background and had been working on studies with electron microscopy.
He noted that there was an electron microscope unit at the institution – close to the engineering faculty, which was why he was aware of it. He recommended that I ought to seek 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 ventured out, coming back to the dining hall that after dark. The man from Iraq approached me and told me that he had set up a meeting for me with the leader of the research team at Columbia. Since he had taken the effort, I showed up for the discussion – but straight off informed my interviewer that I was without a work permit, so I was probably wasting her time.
In typical New York fashion – a place where opportunities abound – she declared: “We can make that happen. What's your start date?” I didn't board the aircraft to London.
I held that position for 36 months. A perk of the job was that I also received no-cost classes 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 altered my destiny in so many ways. I lacked the confidence or nerve to reach out at an prestigious college and request employment. Additionally, I had consistently hoped to pursue education overseas, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that free tuition.
Perhaps most importantly, that role at the university led me to a job in Zurich where I got to know my handsome spouse from France, with whom I now have four amazing children. That encounter altered everything. That kind stranger set me on a different course in life, and I’m always appreciative.
Can you recall the Most Generous Act a Stranger Has Shown for You?
From making your day to transforming your future, we would love to know chance encounters that have left a lasting impression.
Feel free to recount your experience if you are an adult, anonymously if you choose. What you share are confidential, and will only be used the aim of this article.
