In the closing decade of the 80s, I was embarking on a low-cost journey to the European continent with a companion. Because my companion was considering enrolling in graduate studies in the Big Apple, we had planned a 14-day stopover there before heading to London.
We got to the graduate housing, a sizeable multi-story edifice on the Upper West Side called International House. Once we unpacked, we went directly to the cafeteria, where we grabbed food, sat down, and engaged in conversation with people eating there.
Sitting next to me was an Iraqi man pursuing an engineering degree at an Ivy League institution. He inquired what I did, and I told him that I had recently completed my studies with a science degree and had been working on studies with electron microscopy.
He noted that there was an microscopy facility at the institution – adjacent to the school of engineering, which was why he was aware of it. He recommended that I ought to seek a job with them. I dismissed the idea, telling him that I was soon departing to Europe and, even more importantly, I lacked a US visa.
A day later I went out exploring, returning to the canteen that after dark. The man from Iraq walked over to me and let me know that he had arranged an interview for me with the director of the microscopy lab at Columbia. Since he had made the arrangement, I showed up for the discussion – but straight off told my interviewer that I didn’t have a visa, so I was probably wasting her time.
Reflecting the city's spirit – a place where everything seems achievable – she responded: “We can make that happen. What's your start date?” I didn't board the aircraft to London.
I was employed there for a trio of years. A perk of the job was that I was granted complimentary education at Columbia, and I seized the chance to complete a graduate degree in global studies.
I never saw that student again and I don’t even know his name, but his incredible act of kindness altered my destiny in multiple respects. I would never have had the confidence or nerve to contact anyone at an prestigious college and ask for a job. Additionally, I had always wanted to study abroad, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that educational benefit.
Critically, that role at the university paved the way for a role in Europe where I met my handsome spouse from France, with whom I now have four wonderful sons and daughters. 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 Stranger Has Once Performed for You?
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