During the final years of the 1980s, I set out on a budget travel adventure to the European continent with a friend. Because my companion was considering enrolling in graduate studies in the Big Apple, we had arranged a 14-day stopover there before heading to London.
We arrived at the postgrad residence, a big ten-floor structure on the UWS known as International House. Setting down our luggage, we headed straight to the dining hall, where we picked up meals, found a table, and began chatting with people eating there.
Adjacent to my seat was an Iraqi man enrolled in an engineering program at a prestigious New York university. He asked me what I did, and I shared that I had newly finished with a science degree and had been conducting research with electron microscopy.
He mentioned that there was an research lab at the university – close to the engineering department, which was why he was aware of it. He suggested that I should apply for a job with them. I chuckled at the suggestion, explaining that I was soon departing to Europe and, more critically, I did not possess a US visa.
A day later I toured the city, returning to the canteen that night. The engineering student approached me and informed me that he had arranged an interview for me with the head of the electron microscope unit at Columbia. Since he had made the arrangement, I went to the meeting – but right away told my prospective employer that I was without a work permit, so I was unable to accept the role.
Reflecting the city's spirit – a place where everything seems achievable – she said: “We can make that happen. What's your start date?” I never got on that flight to London.
I held that position for three years. One of the benefits was that I also received no-cost classes at Columbia, and I seized the chance to finish a master’s of international affairs.
I never saw that student again and I am unaware of his identity, but his remarkable generosity altered my destiny in so many ways. I would never have had the confidence or self-assurance to contact anyone at an Ivy League university and request employment. Additionally, I had long dreamed to study abroad, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that educational benefit.
Critically, that gig at Columbia led me to a position in Switzerland where I encountered my beautiful French husband, with whom I am raising four wonderful sons and daughters. This was a pivotal life event. That helpful person set me on a different course in life, and I’m forever grateful.
Can you recall the Most Generous Act a Stranger Has Shown for You?
Whether it's making your day to changing your life, we are interested in unexpected interactions that have stuck with you.
Feel free to recount your experience if you are an adult, keeping your details private if you choose. What you share are secure, and will only be used the goal of sharing inspiring stories.
