In the final years of the 1980s, I was beginning a backpacking trip to the European continent with a travel partner. Since my friend was considering enrolling in graduate studies in the Big Apple, we had arranged a fortnight visit there on the way to London.
We arrived at the graduate housing, a large 10-storey building on the Manhattan's Upper West Side named International House. After dropping our bags, we headed straight to the dining hall, where we got some food, found a table, and started talking to other diners.
Adjacent to my seat was an individual of Iraqi origin studying engineering at an Ivy League institution. He wanted to know what I did for a living, and I shared that I had recently completed my studies with a scientific background and had been working on studies using an electron microscope.
He mentioned that there was an electron microscope unit at the institution – close to the engineering faculty, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He proposed that I should apply for a role with them. I chuckled at the suggestion, explaining that I was soon departing to Europe and, more critically, I did not possess a US visa.
A day later I ventured out, coming back to the dining hall that night. 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 went to the meeting – but immediately informed my interviewer that I didn’t have a visa, so I was probably wasting her time.
As is common in NYC – a place where opportunities abound – she responded: “That can be arranged. What's your start date?” I didn't board the aircraft to London.
I was employed there for 36 months. A perk of the job was that I was granted no-cost classes at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to finish a postgrad program in international relations.
We didn't cross paths after that and I can't recall his name, but his remarkable generosity altered my destiny in numerous aspects. I didn't possess the bravery or nerve to reach out at an elite institution and request employment. And, I had always wanted to take classes in another country, but could never have afforded it without that tuition waiver.
Critically, that job in New York led me to a role in Europe where I met my handsome spouse from France, with whom I now have a family of four kids. That encounter altered everything. That kind stranger set me on a different course in life, and I’m eternally thankful.
Tell us about the Kindest Gesture a Unknown Person Has Shown for You?
From brightening your mood to changing your life, we are interested in unexpected interactions that have remained in your memory.
Feel free to recount your experience if you are of legal age, anonymously if you wish. The stories you tell are confidential, and will only be used the purpose of this feature.
