In the late 1980s, I set out on a budget travel adventure to the European continent with a companion. Because my friend was considering enrolling in graduate studies in NYC, we had planned a fortnight visit there before heading to London.
We got to the postgrad residence, a large ten-floor structure on the Upper West Side called International House. After dropping our bags, we made our way to the dining hall, where we grabbed food, found a table, and started talking to people eating there.
Adjacent to my seat was an gentleman from Iraq studying engineering at a prestigious New York 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 performing experiments involving microscopic analysis.
He noted that there was an electron microscope unit at Columbia University – adjacent to the school of engineering, which was how he knew about it. He proposed that I should apply for a position with them. I dismissed the idea, telling him that I was heading off to Europe and, more critically, I didn’t have a US visa.
The next day I toured the city, returning to the canteen that night. The man from Iraq 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. Given that he had gone to the trouble, I showed up for the discussion – but immediately told my interviewer that I lacked the necessary visa, so I was probably wasting her time.
In typical New York fashion – a city where anything feels possible – she responded: “We can make that happen. When can you start?” I never got on that flight to London.
I was employed there for three years. A perk of the job was that I was granted free tuition at Columbia, and I seized the chance to earn a postgrad program in international relations.
I lost touch with him and I can't recall his full name, but his incredible act of kindness changed my life in numerous aspects. I lacked the courage or nerve to approach someone at an Ivy League university and seek a position. Additionally, I had long dreamed to pursue education overseas, but lacked the financial means without that educational benefit.
What's more, that role at the university led me to a position in Switzerland where I encountered my handsome spouse from France, with whom I currently share a family of four kids. That encounter altered everything. That kind stranger set me on a different course in life, and I’m eternally thankful.
What is the Kindest Gesture a Unknown Person Has Once Performed for You?
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