During the late 1980s, I set out on a budget travel adventure to Europe with a friend. Because my travel mate was considering starting a postgraduate program in the Big Apple, we had booked a two-week stay there en route to London.
We got to the postgrad residence, a sizeable 10-storey building on the Manhattan's Upper West Side known as International House. After dropping our bags, we went directly to the dining hall, where we picked up meals, found a table, and began chatting with people eating there.
Beside me was an Iraqi man enrolled in an engineering program at Columbia University. He inquired what I did, and I explained that I had newly finished with a degree in science and had been working on studies involving microscopic analysis.
He pointed out that there was an microscopy facility at the university – right next door to the school of engineering, which was how he knew about it. He suggested that I ought to seek a role with them. I chuckled at the suggestion, saying that I was about to fly to Europe and, more critically, I did not possess a US visa.
A day later I went out exploring, going back to the cafeteria that night. The Iraqi student came up to me and informed me that he had arranged an interview for me with the director of the microscopy lab at Columbia. Because he had gone to the trouble, I went to the meeting – but immediately explained to my host that I was without a work permit, so I was unable to accept the role.
As is common in NYC – a place where everything seems achievable – she declared: “We'll handle it. What's your start date?” I missed my plane to London.
I held that position for 36 months. A perk of the job was that I was granted free tuition at Columbia, and I took advantage to finish a graduate degree in global studies.
I lost touch with him and I can't recall his identity, but his incredible act of kindness changed my life in multiple respects. I would never have had the bravery or self-belief to approach someone at an Ivy League university and ask for a job. Moreover, I had long dreamed to study abroad, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that free tuition.
Critically, that role at the university resulted in a job in Zurich where I met my beautiful French husband, with whom I currently share four amazing children. It was a total sliding doors moment. That benevolent individual redirected my path in life, and I’m forever grateful.
What is the Most Generous Act a Unknown Person Has Once Performed for You?
Whether it's cheering you up to transforming your future, we want to hear about unexpected interactions that have left a lasting impression.
Feel free to recount your experience if you are an adult, keeping your details private if you choose. Your responses are confidential, and are solely for the purpose of this feature.
