In the final years of the 1980s, I set out on a low-cost journey to Europe with a travel partner. Because my friend was considering starting a postgraduate program in the Big Apple, we had booked a 14-day stopover there before heading to London.
We reached the student accommodation, a large 10-storey building on the Upper West Side known as International House. After dropping our bags, we went directly to the cafeteria, where we grabbed food, sat down, and started talking to people eating there.
Beside me was an gentleman from Iraq enrolled in an engineering program at an Ivy League institution. He asked me what I my profession was, and I explained that I had just graduated with a degree in science and had been working on studies using an electron microscope.
He noted that there was an research lab at the university – close to the engineering department, which was how he knew about it. He recommended that I ought to seek a position with them. I dismissed the idea, explaining that I was about to fly to Europe and, additionally, I lacked a US visa.
A day later I toured the city, coming back to the dining hall that night. The engineering student approached 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 gone to the trouble, I showed up for the discussion – but straight off explained to my interviewer that I was without a work permit, so I was likely not a suitable candidate.
As is common in NYC – a metropolis where everything seems achievable – she declared: “That can be arranged. When can you start?” I missed my plane to London.
I worked there for 36 months. An advantage of the role was that I also received free tuition at Columbia, and I took advantage to complete a graduate degree in global studies.
I never saw that student again and I am unaware of his name, but his remarkable generosity transformed my future in multiple respects. I didn't possess the confidence or self-assurance to reach out at an Ivy League university and seek a position. Additionally, I had long dreamed to study abroad, but could never have afforded it without that educational benefit.
What's more, that role at the university resulted in a position in Switzerland where I encountered my wonderful partner, with whom I currently share a family of four kids. 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 Stranger Has Ever Done for You?
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