During the final years of the 1980s, I set out on a budget travel adventure to the European continent with a companion. Because my friend was interested in enrolling in graduate studies in New York, we had booked a two-week stay there en route to London.
We got to the graduate housing, a large 10-storey building on the Manhattan's Upper West Side known as International House. Once we unpacked, we went directly to the cafeteria, where we grabbed food, found a table, and started talking to other diners.
Sitting next to me was an individual of Iraqi origin enrolled in an engineering program at a prestigious New York university. He asked me what I did for a living, and I told him that I had recently completed my studies with a degree in science and had been conducting research using an electron microscope.
He noted that there was an research lab at the institution – right next door to the engineering faculty, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He proposed that I should apply for a role with them. I laughed it off, telling him that I was heading off to Europe and, even more importantly, I didn’t have a US visa.
The following day I went out exploring, coming back to the dining hall that evening. The Iraqi student walked over to me and let me know that he had organized a discussion for me with the head of the electron microscope unit at Columbia. Since he had gone to the trouble, I went to the meeting – but straight off told my interviewer that I didn’t have a visa, so I was likely not a suitable candidate.
Reflecting the city's spirit – a city where anything feels possible – she responded: “We can make that happen. How soon can you begin?” I never got on that flight to London.
I held that position for three years. One of the benefits was that I was granted complimentary education at Columbia, and I took advantage to earn a master’s of international affairs.
I never saw that student again and I am unaware of his identity, but his remarkable generosity transformed my future in so many ways. I didn't possess the confidence or self-assurance to contact anyone at an prestigious college and request employment. And, I had consistently hoped to study abroad, but could never have afforded it without that educational benefit.
What's more, that role at the university resulted in a job in Zurich where I encountered my handsome spouse from France, with whom I am raising four amazing children. This was a pivotal life event. That kind stranger set me on a different course in life, and I’m forever grateful.
Can you recall the Nicest Thing a Unknown Person Has Once Performed for You?
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