During the final years of the 1980s, I was beginning a backpacking trip to the European continent with a companion. Because my travel mate was interested in enrolling in graduate studies in NYC, we had booked a two-week stay there on the way to London.
We reached the graduate housing, a large 10-storey building on the Upper West Side known as International House. Setting down our luggage, we went directly to the canteen, where we picked up meals, sat down, and started talking to fellow residents.
Sitting next to me was an gentleman from Iraq pursuing an engineering degree at Columbia University. He asked me what I my profession was, and I explained that I had just graduated with a degree in science and had been performing experiments with electron microscopy.
He mentioned that there was an research lab at Columbia University – right next door to the school of engineering, which was how he knew about it. He proposed that I ought to seek a job with them. I laughed it off, explaining that I was heading off to Europe and, even more importantly, I didn’t have a US visa.
A day later I toured the city, coming back to the dining hall that after dark. The engineering student walked over to me and let me know that he had organized a discussion for me with the head of the electron microscope unit at Columbia. Since he had taken the effort, I attended the interview – but right away told my interviewer that I lacked the necessary visa, so I was likely not a suitable candidate.
In typical New York fashion – a place where opportunities abound – she said: “That can be arranged. When can you start?” I never got on that flight to London.
I worked there 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 don’t even know his full name, but his selfless gesture transformed my future in numerous aspects. I would never have had the courage or self-belief to contact anyone at an prestigious college and ask for a job. Additionally, I had long dreamed to study abroad, but could never have afforded it without that tuition waiver.
Perhaps most importantly, that gig at Columbia paved the way for a job in Zurich where I met my wonderful partner, with whom I now have four amazing children. That encounter altered everything. That benevolent individual redirected my path in life, and I’m forever grateful.
What is the Most Generous Act a Someone You Didn't Know Has Ever Done for You?
From brightening your mood to altering your path, we are interested in random meetings that have left a lasting impression.
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