In the closing decade of the 80s, I was beginning a backpacking trip to Europe with a friend. Because my travel mate was exploring enrolling in graduate studies in NYC, we had arranged a fortnight visit there en route to London.
We reached the graduate housing, a sizeable 10-storey building on the UWS known as International House. After dropping our bags, we made our way to the cafeteria, where we picked up meals, found a table, and began chatting with other diners.
Beside me was an gentleman from Iraq enrolled in an engineering program at a prestigious New York university. He wanted to know what I did for a living, and I shared that I had newly finished with a scientific background and had been working on studies using an electron microscope.
He mentioned that there was an research lab at the institution – close to the engineering department, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He proposed that I consider applying for a job with them. I chuckled at the suggestion, saying that I was heading off to Europe and, even more importantly, I lacked a US visa.
The next day I ventured out, going back to the cafeteria that evening. The engineering student approached me and let me know that he had set up a meeting for me with the head of the electron microscope unit at Columbia. Since he had gone to the trouble, I attended the interview – but right away told my interviewer that I didn’t have a visa, so I was unable to accept the role.
In typical New York fashion – a city where anything feels possible – she responded: “That can be arranged. How soon can you begin?” I didn't board the aircraft to London.
I worked there for a trio of years. One of the benefits was that I also received no-cost classes at Columbia, and I took advantage to earn a graduate degree in global studies.
We didn't cross paths after that and I am unaware of his identity, but his incredible act of kindness transformed my future in numerous aspects. I would never have had the confidence or self-assurance to approach someone at an Ivy League university and seek a position. Additionally, I had always wanted to pursue education overseas, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that free tuition.
Perhaps most importantly, that job in New York paved the way for a job in Zurich where I encountered my beautiful French husband, with whom I now have a family of four kids. That encounter altered everything. That helpful person set me on a different course in life, and I’m forever grateful.
Can you recall the Kindest Gesture a Someone You Didn't Know Has Shown for You?
Whether it's brightening your mood to altering your path, we would love to know random meetings that have remained in your memory.
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