In the closing decade of the 80s, I was embarking on a budget travel adventure to Europe with a companion. Since my friend was considering starting a postgraduate program in the Big Apple, we had booked a fortnight visit there on the way to London.
We arrived at the graduate housing, a large multi-story edifice on the UWS called International House. Setting down our luggage, we headed straight to the dining hall, where we grabbed food, took a seat, and began chatting with people eating there.
Sitting next to me was an individual of Iraqi origin enrolled in an engineering program at Columbia University. He wanted to know what I did, and I told him that I had just graduated with a scientific background and had been performing experiments involving microscopic analysis.
He noted that there was an microscopy facility at the university – adjacent to the engineering faculty, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He suggested that I should apply for a role with them. I laughed it off, telling him that I was about to fly to Europe and, more critically, I didn’t have a US visa.
The following day I toured the city, coming back to the dining hall that after dark. The engineering student came up 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 made the arrangement, I went to the meeting – but straight off told my host that I didn’t have a visa, so I was likely not a suitable candidate.
Reflecting the city's spirit – a metropolis where opportunities abound – she declared: “That can be arranged. How soon can you begin?” I never got on that flight to London.
I was employed there for 36 months. A perk of the job was that I was granted free tuition at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to finish a graduate degree in global studies.
I never saw that student again and I am unaware of his full name, but his selfless gesture altered my destiny in so many ways. I lacked the courage or nerve to approach someone at an prestigious college and ask for a job. And, I had long dreamed to study abroad, but lacked the financial means without that educational benefit.
Critically, that gig at Columbia paved the way for a position in Switzerland where I got to know my handsome spouse from France, with whom I now have four wonderful sons and daughters. That encounter altered everything. That helpful person changed my trajectory in life, and I’m forever grateful.
What is the Most Generous Act a Stranger Has Once Performed for You?
Whether it's making your day to transforming your future, we are interested in chance encounters that have remained in your memory.
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