During the closing decade of the 80s, I set out on a backpacking trip to the European continent with a friend. Since my companion was exploring starting a postgraduate program in the Big Apple, we had planned a 14-day stopover there en route to London.
We arrived at the student accommodation, a large multi-story edifice on the Upper West Side called International House. Once we unpacked, we made our way to the canteen, where we picked up meals, took a seat, and began chatting with people eating there.
Sitting next to me was an gentleman from Iraq studying engineering at a prestigious New York university. He inquired what I did for a living, and I told him that I had recently completed my studies with a science degree and had been working on studies using an electron microscope.
He noted that there was an microscopy facility at Columbia University – adjacent to the engineering department, which was why he was aware of it. He suggested that I consider applying for a role with them. I laughed it off, saying that I was soon departing to Europe and, even more importantly, I lacked a US visa.
A day later I ventured out, coming back to the dining hall that after dark. The Iraqi student came up 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 went to the meeting – but right away told my interviewer that I was without a work permit, so I was likely not a suitable candidate.
In typical New York fashion – a metropolis where anything feels possible – she responded: “We can make that happen. How soon can you begin?” I never got on that flight to London.
I held that position for 36 months. A perk of the job was that I got free tuition at Columbia, and I seized the chance to finish a postgrad program in international relations.
I never saw that student again and I can't recall his identity, but his remarkable generosity altered my destiny in numerous aspects. I lacked the confidence or self-belief to reach out at an Ivy League university and ask for a job. Additionally, I had always wanted to take classes in another country, but could never have afforded it without that free tuition.
What's more, that gig at Columbia paved the way for a role in Europe where I encountered my handsome spouse from France, with whom I currently share four wonderful sons and daughters. That encounter altered everything. That helpful person set me on a different course in life, and I’m eternally thankful.
Can you recall the Most Generous Act a Unknown Person Has Once Performed for You?
Whether it's cheering you up 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 an adult, without revealing your identity if you choose. What you share are confidential, and are solely for the aim of this article.
