During the final years of the 1980s, I set out on a backpacking trip to Europe with a travel partner. Since my travel mate was interested in enrolling in graduate studies in the Big Apple, we had planned a two-week stay there en route to London.
We arrived at the graduate housing, a sizeable ten-floor structure on the Manhattan's Upper West Side named International House. Once we unpacked, we made our way to the cafeteria, where we got some food, sat down, and engaged in conversation with people eating there.
Sitting next to me was an gentleman from Iraq pursuing an engineering degree at an Ivy League institution. He asked me what I my profession was, and I told him that I had just graduated with a science degree and had been performing experiments with electron microscopy.
He mentioned that there was an microscopy facility at Columbia University – right next door to the engineering faculty, which was why he was aware of it. He suggested that I should apply for a position with them. I dismissed the idea, saying that I was about to fly to Europe and, more critically, I lacked a US visa.
A day later I went out exploring, going back to the cafeteria that night. The Iraqi student came up to me and let me know that he had set up a meeting for me with the director of the microscopy lab at Columbia. Because he had taken the effort, I went to the meeting – but immediately told my interviewer that I didn’t have a visa, so I was likely not a suitable candidate.
As is common in NYC – a city where anything feels possible – she said: “We'll handle it. How soon can you begin?” I missed my plane to London.
I worked there for three years. A perk of the job was that I also received free tuition at Columbia, and I seized the chance to finish a graduate degree in global studies.
I never saw that student again and I don’t even know his name, but his selfless gesture changed my life in multiple respects. I would never have had the confidence or self-assurance to reach out at an Ivy League university and request employment. Additionally, I had long dreamed to pursue education overseas, but could never have afforded it without that free tuition.
What's more, that role at the university resulted in a role in Europe where I met my wonderful partner, with whom I am raising four amazing children. It was a total sliding doors moment. That kind stranger set me on a different course in life, and I’m forever grateful.
Tell us about the Kindest Gesture a Unknown Person Has Ever Done for You?
From brightening your mood to changing your life, we would love to know chance encounters that have left a lasting impression.
Please share your story if you are 18 or over, without revealing your identity if you choose. The stories you tell are protected, and will only be used the aim of this article.
