In the final years of the 1980s, I was embarking on a backpacking trip to Europe with a travel partner. Because my travel mate was exploring starting a postgraduate program in New York, we had arranged a fortnight visit there on the way to London.
We arrived at the graduate housing, a large ten-floor structure on the Upper West Side named International House. Setting down our luggage, we headed straight to the dining hall, where we grabbed food, sat down, and began chatting with other diners.
Sitting next to me was an gentleman from Iraq studying engineering at a prestigious New York university. He asked me what I did for a living, and I told him that I had recently completed my studies with a degree in science and had been working on studies involving microscopic analysis.
He noted that there was an research lab at the institution – adjacent to the engineering department, which was why he was aware of it. He recommended that I ought to seek a position with them. I laughed it off, telling him that I was soon departing to Europe and, more critically, I lacked a US visa.
A day later I ventured out, returning to the canteen that evening. The man from Iraq came up to me and informed 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 attended the interview – but right away told my host that I didn’t have a visa, so I was probably wasting her time.
Reflecting the city's spirit – a metropolis where anything feels possible – she responded: “We can make that happen. When can you start?” I missed my plane to London.
I held that position for three years. A perk of the job was that I was granted no-cost classes at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to earn a postgrad program in international relations.
I lost touch with him and I don’t even know his identity, but his incredible act of kindness transformed my future in numerous aspects. I would never have had the confidence or nerve to reach out at an prestigious college and request employment. Additionally, I had always wanted to take classes in another country, but lacked the financial means without that free tuition.
What's more, that job in New York led me to a role in Europe where I got to know my handsome spouse from France, with whom I currently share four wonderful sons and daughters. It was a total sliding doors moment. That helpful person set me on a different course in life, and I’m always appreciative.
Tell us about the Most Generous Act a Stranger Has Ever Done for You?
From cheering you up to changing your life, we would love to know random meetings that have remained in your memory.
Feel free to recount your experience if you are of legal age, without revealing your identity if you wish. What you share are secure, and are solely for the purpose of this feature.
