During the final years of the 1980s, I was embarking on a budget travel adventure to the European continent with a companion. Since my travel mate was exploring pursuing a master’s degree in the Big Apple, we had booked a two-week stay there before heading to London.
We reached the postgrad residence, a big 10-storey building on the Upper West Side called International House. Setting down our luggage, we headed straight to the cafeteria, where we picked up meals, found a table, and began chatting with people eating there.
Beside me was an individual of Iraqi origin enrolled in an engineering program at an Ivy League institution. He asked me what I my profession was, and I shared that I had newly finished with a degree in science and had been performing experiments with electron microscopy.
He noted that there was an electron microscope unit at the institution – close to the school of engineering, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He proposed that I consider applying for a role with them. I chuckled at the suggestion, telling him that I was heading off to Europe and, additionally, I didn’t have a US visa.
A day later I toured the city, returning to the canteen that after dark. The Iraqi student approached me and told me that he had arranged an interview for me with the director of the microscopy lab at Columbia. Since he had taken the effort, I went to the meeting – but straight off informed my host that I was without a work permit, so I was unable to accept the role.
In typical New York fashion – a place where anything feels possible – she said: “That can be arranged. When can you start?” I never got on that flight to London.
I held that position for three years. An advantage of the role was that I was granted free tuition at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to earn a postgrad program in international relations.
I never saw that student again and I am unaware of his identity, but his remarkable generosity transformed my future in so many ways. I would never have had the confidence or nerve to contact anyone at an Ivy League university and seek a position. Additionally, I had always wanted to take classes in another country, but lacked the financial means without that tuition waiver.
Critically, that job in New York paved the way for a job in Zurich where I met my beautiful French husband, with whom I now have four wonderful sons and daughters. This was a pivotal life event. That kind stranger redirected my path in life, and I’m eternally thankful.
What is the Most Generous Act a Stranger Has Once Performed for You?
Whether it's cheering you up to altering your path, we would love to know chance encounters that have left a lasting impression.
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