During the late 1980s, I was embarking on a budget travel adventure to Europe with a travel partner. Since my companion was exploring starting a postgraduate program in NYC, we had arranged a two-week stay there before heading to London.
We reached the graduate housing, a large multi-story edifice on the UWS called International House. Setting down our luggage, we went directly to the dining hall, where we got some food, sat down, and started talking to fellow residents.
Adjacent to my seat was an gentleman from Iraq studying engineering at Columbia University. He inquired what I did for a living, and I shared that I had just graduated with a degree in science and had been working on studies using an electron microscope.
He pointed out that there was an microscopy facility at the university – adjacent to the engineering faculty, which was why he was aware of it. He recommended that I should apply for a job with them. I laughed it off, saying that I was soon departing to Europe and, even more importantly, I didn’t have a US visa.
The following day I ventured out, coming back to the dining hall that after dark. The engineering student came up to me and let me know that he had arranged an interview for me with the head of the electron microscope unit at Columbia. Given that he had gone to the trouble, I attended the interview – but straight off told my host that I didn’t have a visa, so I was probably wasting her time.
Reflecting the city's spirit – a metropolis where opportunities abound – she declared: “That can be arranged. When can you start?” I didn't board the aircraft to London.
I held that position for 36 months. A perk of the job was that I got complimentary education at Columbia, and I seized the chance to earn a graduate degree in global studies.
I lost touch with him and I don’t even know his full name, but his incredible act of kindness altered my destiny in multiple respects. I lacked the confidence or self-assurance to approach someone at an elite institution and request employment. Additionally, I had consistently hoped to study abroad, but could never have afforded it without that tuition waiver.
What's more, that role at the university resulted in a job in Zurich where I got to know my beautiful French husband, with whom I now have a family of four kids. This was a pivotal life event. That kind stranger changed my trajectory in life, and I’m forever grateful.
What is the Most Generous Act a Unknown Person Has Shown for You?
From cheering you up to transforming your future, we are interested in chance encounters that have remained in your memory.
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