In the final years of the 1980s, I set out on a budget travel adventure to Europe with a companion. Because my travel mate was exploring starting a postgraduate program in New York, we had booked a 14-day stopover there before heading to London.
We arrived at the graduate housing, a sizeable multi-story edifice on the Manhattan's Upper West Side called International House. Once we unpacked, we made our way to the dining hall, where we picked up meals, sat down, and engaged in conversation with fellow residents.
Sitting next to me was an individual of Iraqi origin enrolled in an engineering program at an Ivy League institution. He wanted to know what I did for a living, and I explained that I had newly finished with a scientific background and had been performing experiments involving microscopic analysis.
He mentioned that there was an research lab at the institution – close to the school of engineering, which was how he knew about it. He recommended that I should apply for a position with them. I laughed it off, saying that I was about to fly to Europe and, more critically, I did not possess a US visa.
A day later I toured the city, returning to the canteen that night. The man from Iraq approached me and informed me that he had organized a discussion for me with the head of the electron microscope unit at Columbia. Since he had made the arrangement, I went to the meeting – but straight off told my interviewer that I lacked the necessary visa, so I was probably wasting her time.
In typical New York fashion – a city where anything feels possible – she declared: “We'll handle it. How soon can you begin?” I never got on that flight to London.
I was employed there for three years. An advantage of the role was that I got free tuition at Columbia, and I seized the chance to complete a graduate degree in global studies.
We didn't cross paths after that and I don’t even know his identity, but his selfless gesture altered my destiny in numerous aspects. I would never have had the courage or self-belief to approach someone at an prestigious college and seek a position. And, I had long dreamed to pursue education overseas, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that free tuition.
Perhaps most importantly, that role at the university resulted in a job in Zurich where I encountered my handsome spouse from France, with whom I am raising a family of four kids. That encounter altered everything. That kind stranger redirected my path in life, and I’m always appreciative.
Can you recall the Kindest Gesture a Unknown Person Has Once Performed for You?
Whether it's making your day to altering your path, we are interested in random meetings that have stuck with you.
We invite you to tell us if you are an adult, anonymously if you prefer. Your responses are confidential, and are intended for the aim of this article.
