During the late 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 NYC, we had booked a two-week stay there on the way to London.
We arrived at the graduate housing, a big 10-storey building on the Manhattan's Upper West Side known as International House. After dropping our bags, we went directly to the dining hall, where we picked up meals, sat down, and began chatting with people eating there.
Beside me was an gentleman from Iraq enrolled in an engineering program at a prestigious New York university. He inquired what I my profession was, and I told him that I had newly finished with a scientific background and had been conducting research using an electron microscope.
He mentioned that there was an research lab at the institution – close to the engineering faculty, which was how he knew about it. He recommended that I should apply for a job with them. I chuckled at the suggestion, telling him that I was soon departing to Europe and, even more importantly, I did not possess a US visa.
The following day I ventured out, coming back to the dining hall that night. The man from Iraq 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. Because he had gone to the trouble, I went to the meeting – but straight off told my prospective employer that I didn’t have a visa, so I was probably wasting her time.
Reflecting the city's spirit – a metropolis where everything seems achievable – she responded: “We'll handle it. What's your start date?” I didn't board the aircraft to London.
I held that position for three years. A perk of the job was that I was granted no-cost classes at Columbia, and I seized the chance to finish a postgrad program in international relations.
We didn't cross paths after that and I can't recall his full name, but his remarkable generosity transformed my future in numerous aspects. I would never have had the confidence or nerve to reach out at an elite institution and request employment. And, I had consistently hoped to study abroad, but could never have afforded it without that tuition waiver.
Critically, that role at the university paved the way for a job in Zurich where I encountered my wonderful partner, with whom I now have four amazing children. It was a total sliding doors moment. That helpful person set me on a different course in life, and I’m forever grateful.
Tell us about the Kindest Gesture a Someone You Didn't Know Has Once Performed for You?
From cheering you up to changing your life, we want to hear about chance encounters that have left a lasting impression.
Please share your story if you are an adult, keeping your details private if you wish. What you share are confidential, and are solely for the purpose of this feature.
