During the final years of the 1980s, I was beginning a low-cost journey to the European continent with a travel partner. Since my friend was interested in pursuing a master’s degree in New York, we had booked a two-week stay there on the way to London.
We reached the student accommodation, a big 10-storey building on the Upper West Side called International House. Setting down our luggage, we headed straight to the dining hall, where we grabbed food, sat down, and began chatting with people eating there.
Adjacent to my seat was an gentleman from Iraq pursuing an engineering degree at Columbia University. He inquired 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 electron microscope unit at the institution – right next door 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 dismissed the idea, saying that I was heading off to Europe and, more critically, I didn’t have a US visa.
A day later I went out exploring, coming back to the dining hall that evening. The Iraqi student walked over to me and told me that he had organized a discussion for me with the head of the electron microscope unit at Columbia. Given that 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 likely not a suitable candidate.
In typical New York fashion – a place where anything feels possible – she declared: “That can be arranged. When can you start?” I didn't board the aircraft to London.
I worked there for 36 months. One of the benefits was that I also received free tuition at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to complete a graduate degree in global studies.
I never saw that student again and I am unaware of his name, but his selfless gesture changed my life in so many ways. I didn't possess the courage or self-assurance to contact anyone at an Ivy League university and seek a position. Moreover, I had long dreamed to take classes in another country, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that educational benefit.
What's more, that gig at Columbia led me to a role in Europe where I encountered my beautiful French husband, with whom I currently share a family of four kids. It was a total sliding doors moment. That kind stranger redirected my path in life, and I’m eternally thankful.
Can you recall the Kindest Gesture a Stranger Has Ever Done for You?
From making your day to altering your path, we are interested in random meetings that have remained in your memory.
Please share your story if you are 18 or over, without revealing your identity if you prefer. What you share are confidential, and will only be used the goal of sharing inspiring stories.
