During the final years of the 1980s, I set out on a backpacking trip to the European continent with a travel partner. Because my friend was considering pursuing a master’s degree in the Big Apple, we had planned a two-week stay there before heading to London.
We got to the postgrad residence, a big ten-floor structure on the Upper West Side named International House. Once we unpacked, we went directly to the canteen, where we got some food, took a seat, and began chatting with people eating there.
Beside me was an Iraqi man enrolled in an engineering program at Columbia University. He asked me what I my profession was, and I explained that I had just graduated with a science degree and had been working on studies involving microscopic analysis.
He pointed out that there was an research lab at the university – close to the school of engineering, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He suggested that I should apply for a role with them. I laughed it off, saying that I was heading off to Europe and, more critically, I didn’t have a US visa.
A day later I ventured out, returning to the canteen that after dark. The man from Iraq came up to me and let me know that he had arranged an interview for me with the leader of the research team at Columbia. Since he had taken the effort, I attended the interview – but straight off informed my interviewer that I lacked the necessary visa, so I was likely not a suitable candidate.
Reflecting the city's spirit – a metropolis where opportunities abound – she declared: “We can make that happen. How soon can you begin?” I never got on that flight to London.
I was employed there for three years. One of the benefits was that I got no-cost classes at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to earn a graduate degree in global studies.
I never saw that student again and I can't recall his identity, but his remarkable generosity transformed my future in so many ways. I would never have had the confidence or nerve to reach out at an elite institution and ask for a job. And, I had always wanted to study abroad, but could never have afforded it without that free tuition.
Perhaps most importantly, that role at the university led me to a role in Europe where I encountered my handsome spouse from France, with whom I am raising a family of four kids. It was a total sliding doors moment. That kind stranger set me on a different course in life, and I’m eternally thankful.
Can you recall the Nicest Thing a Unknown Person Has Shown for You?
Whether it's making your day to altering your path, we want to hear about chance encounters that have left a lasting impression.
Feel free to recount your experience if you are an adult, keeping your details private if you wish. Your responses are secure, and are intended for the aim of this article.
