During the late 1980s, I set out on a budget travel adventure to Europe with a travel partner. Since my companion was considering starting a postgraduate program in New York, we had arranged a 14-day stopover there en route to London.
We arrived at the student accommodation, a sizeable ten-floor structure on the Manhattan's Upper West Side known as International House. After dropping our bags, we headed straight to the cafeteria, where we got some food, found a table, and began chatting with fellow residents.
Adjacent to my seat was an Iraqi man studying engineering at a prestigious New York university. He inquired what I my profession was, and I told him that I had just graduated with a science degree and had been conducting research using an electron microscope.
He pointed out that there was an electron microscope unit at Columbia University – adjacent to the engineering faculty, which was how he knew about it. He suggested that I should apply for a job with them. I chuckled at the suggestion, telling him that I was about to fly to Europe and, more critically, I didn’t have a US visa.
A day later I ventured out, coming back to the dining hall that night. The man from Iraq came up to me and told me that he had set up a meeting for me with the director of the microscopy lab at Columbia. Given that he had taken the effort, I went to the meeting – but right away informed my interviewer that I lacked the necessary visa, so I was unable to accept the role.
As is common in NYC – a city where anything feels possible – she said: “We can make that happen. When can you start?” I missed my plane to London.
I held that position for a trio of years. One of the benefits was that I was granted no-cost classes at Columbia, and I took advantage to complete a postgrad program in international relations.
We didn't cross paths after that and I don’t even know his full name, but his incredible act of kindness altered my destiny in numerous aspects. I didn't possess the courage or self-assurance to reach out at an prestigious college and ask for a job. And, I had consistently hoped to take classes in another country, but lacked the financial means without that free tuition.
Perhaps most importantly, that job in New York resulted in a job in Zurich where I met my handsome spouse from France, with whom I currently share four amazing children. 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 Kindest Gesture a Someone You Didn't Know Has Shown for You?
Whether it's brightening your mood to transforming your future, we are interested in chance encounters that have left a lasting impression.
Feel free to recount your experience if you are 18 or over, without revealing your identity if you wish. The stories you tell are confidential, and are solely for the purpose of this feature.
