During the final years of the 1980s, I set out on a backpacking trip to the European continent with a friend. Because my companion was considering enrolling in graduate studies in New York, we had arranged a 14-day stopover there before heading to London.
We got to the student accommodation, a big multi-story edifice on the Upper West Side called International House. Setting down our luggage, we headed straight to the canteen, where we got some food, took a seat, and began chatting 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 did for a living, and I shared that I had just graduated with a scientific background and had been performing experiments involving microscopic analysis.
He noted that there was an electron microscope unit at the university – adjacent to the school of engineering, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He suggested that I should apply for a job with them. I chuckled at the suggestion, explaining that I was soon departing to Europe and, additionally, I did not possess a US visa.
A day later I went out exploring, returning to the canteen that evening. The engineering student came up to me and informed me that he had arranged an interview for me with the leader of the research team at Columbia. Since he had taken the effort, I attended the interview – but right away told my interviewer that I lacked the necessary visa, so I was probably wasting her time.
In typical New York fashion – a city where opportunities abound – she declared: “We'll handle it. When can you start?” I didn't board the aircraft to London.
I was employed there for a trio of years. An advantage of the role was that I was granted free tuition at Columbia, and I took advantage to earn a master’s of international affairs.
I never saw that student again and I am unaware of his identity, but his incredible act of kindness altered my destiny in multiple respects. I didn't possess the bravery or self-belief to reach out at an Ivy League university and ask for a job. And, I had consistently hoped to pursue education overseas, but lacked the financial means without that free tuition.
Critically, that job in New York resulted in a job in Zurich where I got to know my handsome spouse from France, with whom I now have four wonderful sons and daughters. That encounter altered everything. That kind stranger redirected my path in life, and I’m always appreciative.
Can you recall the Most Generous Act a Unknown Person Has Shown for You?
Whether it's brightening your mood 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 an adult, anonymously if you wish. What you share are confidential, and are solely for the aim of this article.
