During the closing decade of the 80s, I was embarking on a budget travel adventure to Europe with a travel partner. Since my travel mate was considering pursuing a master’s degree in NYC, we had arranged a 14-day stopover there en route to London.
We arrived at the student accommodation, a large ten-floor structure on the Manhattan's Upper West Side known as International House. After dropping our bags, we made our way to the dining hall, where we got some food, found a table, and began chatting with people eating there.
Beside me was an Iraqi man enrolled in an engineering program at an Ivy League institution. He asked me what I did, and I explained that I had newly finished with a science degree and had been working on studies with electron microscopy.
He mentioned that there was an microscopy facility at Columbia University – adjacent to the engineering department, which was how he knew about it. He proposed that I ought to seek a job with them. I laughed it off, saying that I was about to fly to Europe and, more critically, I didn’t have a US visa.
The next day I went out exploring, coming back to the dining hall that evening. The Iraqi student came up to me and let me know that he had set up a meeting for me with the leader of the research team at Columbia. Given that he had gone to the trouble, I went to the meeting – but immediately explained to my prospective employer that I didn’t have a visa, so I was likely not a suitable candidate.
In typical New York fashion – a city where opportunities abound – she declared: “We can make that happen. How soon can you begin?” I didn't board the aircraft to London.
I held that position for a trio of years. One of the benefits was that I was granted free tuition at Columbia, and I seized the chance to earn a master’s of international affairs.
I lost touch with him and I don’t even know his full name, but his incredible act of kindness changed my life in so many ways. I lacked the confidence or self-belief to reach out at an prestigious college and ask for a job. And, I had long dreamed to pursue education overseas, but lacked the financial means without that educational benefit.
What's more, that role at the university paved the way for a job in Zurich where I met my handsome spouse from France, with whom I currently share a family of four kids. This was a pivotal life event. That kind stranger changed my trajectory in life, and I’m always appreciative.
What is the Kindest Gesture a Stranger Has Once Performed for You?
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