During the closing decade of the 80s, I was embarking on a backpacking trip to the European continent with a friend. Since my companion was considering starting a postgraduate program in New York, we had planned a two-week stay there on the way to London.
We got to the student accommodation, a big 10-storey building on the UWS named International House. After dropping our bags, we headed straight to the canteen, where we grabbed food, sat down, and engaged in conversation with fellow residents.
Beside me was an gentleman from Iraq enrolled in an engineering program at an Ivy League institution. He wanted to know what I my profession was, and I told him that I had just graduated with a degree in science and had been working on studies involving microscopic analysis.
He noted that there was an microscopy facility at Columbia University – adjacent to the engineering faculty, which was why he was aware of it. He recommended that I ought to seek a job with them. I laughed it off, explaining that I was soon departing to Europe and, more critically, I did not possess a US visa.
A day later I ventured out, coming back to the dining hall that evening. The Iraqi student came up to me and told me that he had set up a meeting for me with the head of the electron microscope unit at Columbia. Since he had made the arrangement, I went to the meeting – but right away explained to my prospective employer that I didn’t have a visa, so I was likely not a suitable candidate.
As is common in NYC – a place where opportunities abound – she responded: “That can be arranged. How soon can you begin?” I never got on that flight to London.
I worked there for 36 months. A perk of the job was that I got free tuition at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to earn a master’s of international affairs.
I never saw that student again and I can't recall his full name, but his incredible act of kindness changed my life in numerous aspects. I didn't possess the courage or nerve to contact anyone at an elite institution and request employment. Moreover, I had always wanted to study abroad, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that free tuition.
What's more, that role at the university paved the way for a position in Switzerland where I encountered my beautiful French husband, with whom I am raising a family of four kids. That encounter altered everything. That kind stranger changed my trajectory in life, and I’m forever grateful.
Can you recall the Most Generous Act a Stranger Has Ever Done for You?
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