In the final years of the 1980s, I was embarking on a budget travel adventure to the European continent with a travel partner. Since my friend was interested in starting a postgraduate program in the Big Apple, we had booked a 14-day stopover there on the way to London.
We reached the postgrad residence, a large ten-floor structure on the Upper West Side named International House. Setting down our luggage, we went directly to the dining hall, where we picked up meals, took a seat, and started talking to fellow residents.
Sitting next to me was an Iraqi man enrolled in an engineering program at a prestigious New York university. He inquired what I did for a living, and I told him that I had newly finished with a degree in science and had been working on studies involving microscopic analysis.
He mentioned that there was an research lab at the university – close to the engineering faculty, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He recommended that I ought to seek a role with them. I dismissed the idea, saying 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, coming back to the dining hall that evening. The Iraqi student came up to me and told me that he had set up a meeting for me with the director of the microscopy lab at Columbia. Given that he had made the arrangement, I attended the interview – but right away informed my interviewer that I didn’t have a visa, so I was probably wasting her time.
As is common in NYC – a metropolis where opportunities abound – she responded: “We can make that happen. When can you start?” I didn't board the aircraft to London.
I held that position for three years. A perk of the job was that I also received no-cost classes at Columbia, and I took advantage to finish 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 lacked the confidence or nerve to approach someone at an Ivy League university and request employment. And, I had always wanted to pursue education overseas, but lacked the financial means without that free tuition.
Critically, that job in New York resulted in a position in Switzerland where I met my beautiful French husband, with whom I now have a family of four kids. This was a pivotal life event. That kind stranger redirected my path in life, and I’m forever grateful.
Can you recall the Kindest Gesture a Stranger Has Shown for You?
From brightening your mood to changing your life, we want to hear about random meetings that have left a lasting impression.
We invite you to tell us if you are 18 or over, without revealing your identity if you wish. The stories you tell are protected, and will only be used the aim of this article.
