In the final years of the 1980s, I set out on a budget travel adventure to Europe with a travel partner. Since my friend was exploring starting a postgraduate program in New York, we had arranged a two-week stay there en route to London.
We reached the student accommodation, a big 10-storey building on the Manhattan's Upper West Side named International House. Setting down our luggage, we went directly to the canteen, where we got some food, sat down, and engaged in conversation with other diners.
Sitting next to me was an gentleman from Iraq enrolled in an engineering program at an Ivy League institution. He wanted to know what I my profession was, and I explained that I had recently completed my studies with a degree in science and had been working on studies using an electron microscope.
He mentioned that there was an microscopy facility at Columbia University – adjacent to the school of engineering, which was why he was aware of it. He proposed that I ought to seek a job with them. I chuckled at the suggestion, saying that I was soon departing to Europe and, more critically, I did not possess a US visa.
A day later I toured the city, going back to the cafeteria that after dark. The man from Iraq walked over to me and told me that he had arranged an interview for me with the head of the electron microscope unit at Columbia. Because he had made the arrangement, I attended the interview – but straight off informed my prospective employer that I was without a work permit, so I was probably wasting her time.
Reflecting the city's spirit – a city where anything feels possible – she declared: “That can be arranged. When can you start?” I never got on that flight to London.
I was employed there for a trio of years. One of the benefits was that I also received free tuition at Columbia, and I seized the chance to finish a postgrad program in international relations.
We didn't cross paths after that and I don’t even know his full name, but his remarkable generosity altered my destiny in so many ways. I lacked the confidence or self-belief to reach out at an elite institution and request employment. And, I had long dreamed to pursue education overseas, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that educational benefit.
What's more, that role at the university led me to a job in Zurich where I met my handsome spouse from France, with whom I am raising four amazing children. That encounter altered everything. That kind stranger changed my trajectory in life, and I’m always appreciative.
Can you recall the Kindest Gesture a Someone You Didn't Know Has Shown for You?
From cheering you up to altering your path, we are interested in random meetings that have left a lasting impression.
Please share your story if you are an adult, without revealing your identity if you choose. The stories you tell are confidential, and are intended for the aim of this article.
