During the late 1980s, I was embarking on a budget travel adventure to Europe with a friend. Because my companion was interested in pursuing a master’s degree in New York, we had arranged a two-week stay there en route to London.
We reached the graduate housing, a large 10-storey building on the Upper West Side known as International House. After dropping our bags, we went directly to the canteen, where we got some food, found a table, and started talking to people eating there.
Beside me was an Iraqi man pursuing an engineering degree at a prestigious New York university. He asked me what I did, and I shared that I had recently completed my studies with a science degree and had been working on studies using an electron microscope.
He mentioned that there was an electron microscope unit at the university – right next door to the school of engineering, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He suggested that I ought to seek a position with them. I chuckled at the suggestion, explaining that I was soon departing to Europe and, more critically, I didn’t have a US visa.
A day later I toured the city, returning to the canteen that evening. The engineering student walked over to me and told me that he had arranged an interview for me with the leader of the research team at Columbia. Since he had made the arrangement, I attended the interview – but immediately explained to my interviewer that I didn’t have a visa, so I was unable to accept the role.
In typical New York fashion – a metropolis where opportunities abound – she said: “That can be arranged. What's your start date?” I missed my plane to London.
I held that position for a trio of years. One of the benefits was that I was granted 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 remarkable generosity altered my destiny in so many ways. I would never have had the confidence or nerve to approach someone at an prestigious college and request employment. And, I had long dreamed to study abroad, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that free tuition.
What's more, that role at the university resulted in a role in Europe where I encountered my wonderful partner, with whom I now have four wonderful sons and daughters. This was a pivotal life event. That benevolent individual set me on a different course in life, and I’m always appreciative.
Can you recall the Kindest Gesture a Stranger Has Ever Done for You?
Whether it's cheering you up to transforming your future, we would love to know random meetings that have stuck with you.
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