During the final years of the 1980s, I was beginning a low-cost journey to the European continent with a friend. Since my companion was interested in starting a postgraduate program in NYC, we had booked a 14-day stopover there on the way to London.
We got to the postgrad residence, a large 10-storey building on the Upper West Side called International House. Setting down our luggage, we made our way to the canteen, where we got some food, sat down, and started talking to other diners.
Beside me was an Iraqi man enrolled in an engineering program at an Ivy League institution. He wanted to know what I my profession was, and I told him that I had newly finished with a degree in science and had been conducting research involving microscopic analysis.
He mentioned that there was an research lab at Columbia University – right next door to the engineering faculty, which was why he was aware of it. He suggested that I ought to seek a job with them. I chuckled at the suggestion, telling him that I was soon departing to Europe and, even more importantly, I did not possess a US visa.
A day later I went out exploring, returning to the canteen that after dark. The Iraqi student approached me and informed me that he had arranged an interview for me with the director of the microscopy lab at Columbia. Since he had made the arrangement, I attended the interview – but straight off informed my host that I was without a work permit, so I was probably wasting her time.
Reflecting the city's spirit – a place where everything seems achievable – she declared: “We'll handle it. How soon can you begin?” I didn't board the aircraft to London.
I worked there for a trio of years. A perk of the job was that I also received free tuition at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to finish a master’s of international affairs.
I lost touch with him and I am unaware of his name, but his remarkable generosity altered my destiny in numerous aspects. I didn't possess the courage or self-belief to approach someone at an Ivy League university and seek a position. And, I had consistently hoped to pursue education overseas, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that free tuition.
Perhaps most importantly, that job in New York paved the way for a position in Switzerland where I got to know my beautiful French husband, with whom I currently share a family of four kids. It was a total sliding doors moment. That benevolent individual set me on a different course in life, and I’m always appreciative.
Tell us about the Kindest Gesture a Stranger Has Shown for You?
From making your day to transforming your future, we would love to know random meetings that have stuck with you.
Please share your story if you are of legal age, keeping your details private if you choose. Your responses are confidential, and are intended for the purpose of this feature.
