In the final years of the 1980s, I was embarking on a budget travel adventure to the European continent with a companion. Because my companion was exploring pursuing a master’s degree in NYC, we had planned a two-week stay there before heading to London.
We arrived at the graduate housing, a sizeable 10-storey building on the Manhattan's Upper West Side named International House. Setting down our luggage, we went directly to the canteen, where we grabbed food, sat down, and started talking to people eating there.
Sitting next to me was an gentleman from Iraq pursuing an engineering degree at Columbia University. He asked me what I did, and I told him that I had newly finished with a scientific background and had been performing experiments with electron microscopy.
He noted that there was an research lab at the university – close to the school of engineering, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He suggested that I ought to seek a role with them. I laughed it off, saying that I was about to fly to Europe and, additionally, I lacked a US visa.
The next day I toured the city, coming back to the dining hall that evening. The Iraqi student approached me and told me that he had organized a discussion for me with the head of the electron microscope unit at Columbia. Given that he had taken the effort, I went to the meeting – but right away explained to my interviewer that I was without a work permit, so I was unable to accept the role.
As is common in NYC – a place where opportunities abound – she declared: “We can make that happen. What's your start date?” I didn't board the aircraft to London.
I was employed there for three years. A perk of the job was that I also received no-cost classes at Columbia, and I took advantage to complete a postgrad program in international relations.
I never saw that student again and I can't recall his full name, but his incredible act of kindness altered my destiny in so many ways. I lacked the courage or self-belief to reach out at an elite institution and ask for a job. And, I had long dreamed to study abroad, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that tuition waiver.
What's more, that job in New York paved the way for a role in Europe where I met my beautiful French husband, with whom I am raising four amazing children. That encounter altered everything. That benevolent individual redirected my path in life, and I’m eternally thankful.
What is the Nicest Thing a Someone You Didn't Know Has Shown for You?
Whether it's making your day to transforming your future, we are interested in chance encounters that have remained in your memory.
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