In the late 1980s, I set out on a backpacking trip to the European continent with a friend. Since my travel mate was interested in pursuing a master’s degree in the Big Apple, we had booked a two-week stay there en route to London.
We got to the graduate housing, a sizeable multi-story edifice on the Manhattan's Upper West Side named International House. Once we unpacked, we went directly to the dining hall, where we grabbed food, sat down, and began chatting with people eating there.
Adjacent to my seat was an gentleman from Iraq enrolled in an engineering program at a prestigious New York university. He asked me what I did for a living, and I told him that I had just graduated with a degree in science and had been performing experiments using an electron microscope.
He pointed out that there was an electron microscope unit at the institution – adjacent to the engineering faculty, which was how he knew about it. He recommended that I should apply for a role with them. I dismissed the idea, telling him that I was heading off to Europe and, even more importantly, I did not possess a US visa.
A day later I toured the city, coming back to the dining hall that night. The Iraqi student walked over to me and let me know that he had arranged an interview for me with the director of the microscopy lab at Columbia. Given that he had gone to the trouble, I attended the interview – but straight off explained to my interviewer that I was without a work permit, so I was probably wasting her time.
In typical New York fashion – a metropolis where opportunities abound – she declared: “We'll handle it. How soon can you begin?” I didn't board the aircraft to London.
I held that position for a trio of years. An advantage of the role was that I was granted free tuition at Columbia, and I took advantage to finish a graduate degree in global studies.
I never saw that student again and I am unaware of his full name, but his selfless gesture changed my life in multiple respects. I would never have had the courage or self-assurance to approach someone at an Ivy League university and seek a position. Additionally, I had long dreamed to study abroad, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that tuition waiver.
Perhaps most importantly, that role at the university resulted in a role in Europe where I got to know my beautiful French husband, with whom I am raising four amazing children. That encounter altered everything. That benevolent individual changed my trajectory in life, and I’m forever grateful.
Can you recall the Kindest Gesture a Stranger Has Once Performed for You?
Whether it's cheering you up to transforming your future, we want to hear about random meetings that have remained in your memory.
Feel free to recount your experience if you are 18 or over, without revealing your identity if you prefer. The stories you tell are protected, and are intended for the goal of sharing inspiring stories.
