In the final years of the 1980s, I set out on a budget travel adventure to Europe with a friend. Because my travel mate was interested in starting a postgraduate program in New York, we had planned a two-week stay there en route to London.
We reached the graduate housing, a big 10-storey building on the Upper West Side named International House. Setting down our luggage, we made our way to the canteen, where we grabbed food, sat down, and engaged in conversation with people eating there.
Adjacent to my seat was an Iraqi man enrolled in an engineering program at a prestigious New York university. He asked me what I my profession was, and I told him that I had just graduated 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 university – right next door to the engineering faculty, which was how he knew about it. He suggested that I consider applying for a role with them. I chuckled at the suggestion, telling him that I was about to fly to Europe and, additionally, I did not possess a US visa.
The following day I ventured out, returning to the canteen that after dark. The Iraqi 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. Since he had made the arrangement, I attended the interview – but straight off explained to my prospective employer that I lacked the necessary visa, so I was unable to accept the role.
As is common in NYC – a city where everything seems achievable – she declared: “That can be arranged. What's your start date?” I didn't board the aircraft to London.
I held that position for three years. A perk of the job was that I was granted free tuition at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to complete a graduate degree in global studies.
We didn't cross paths after that and I am unaware of his identity, but his remarkable generosity changed my life in so many ways. I didn't possess the confidence or self-assurance to reach out at an elite institution and ask for a job. And, I had always wanted to take classes in another country, but could never have afforded it without that educational benefit.
Critically, that gig at Columbia 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. It was a total sliding doors moment. That benevolent individual redirected my path in life, and I’m forever grateful.
What is the Kindest Gesture a Stranger Has Once Performed for You?
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