During the late 1980s, I was embarking on a budget travel adventure to the European continent with a companion. Since my travel mate was interested in pursuing a master’s degree in New York, we had booked a 14-day stopover there en route to London.
We arrived at the postgrad residence, a big 10-storey building on the Manhattan's Upper West Side called International House. After dropping our bags, we made our way to the cafeteria, where we got some food, took a seat, and began chatting with fellow residents.
Adjacent to my seat was an individual of Iraqi origin enrolled in an engineering program at Columbia University. He wanted to know what I did for a living, and I explained that I had just graduated with a science degree and had been working on studies with electron microscopy.
He mentioned that there was an microscopy facility at the university – adjacent to the engineering department, which was how he knew about it. He recommended that I ought to seek a job with them. I chuckled at the suggestion, telling him that I was about to fly to Europe and, more critically, I didn’t have a US visa.
The next day I ventured out, returning to the canteen that evening. The man from Iraq came up to me and informed me that he had organized a discussion for me with the director of the microscopy lab at Columbia. Since he had made the arrangement, I attended the interview – but straight off told my prospective employer that I lacked the necessary visa, so I was likely not a suitable candidate.
In typical New York fashion – a place where opportunities abound – she declared: “We'll handle it. How soon can you begin?” I missed my plane to London.
I was employed there for a trio of years. An advantage of the role was that I got free tuition at Columbia, and I took advantage to finish a graduate degree in global studies.
I lost touch with him and I am unaware of his name, but his selfless gesture altered my destiny in multiple respects. I would never have had the courage or nerve to reach out at an elite institution and ask for a job. Moreover, I had long dreamed to study abroad, but lacked the financial means without that tuition waiver.
Perhaps most importantly, that job in New York resulted in a job in Zurich where I got to know my beautiful French husband, with whom I am raising a family of four kids. That encounter altered everything. That helpful person changed my trajectory in life, and I’m eternally thankful.
Can you recall the Kindest Gesture a Unknown Person Has Shown for You?
From cheering you up to altering your path, we are interested in chance encounters that have remained in your memory.
Feel free to recount your experience if you are 18 or over, without revealing your identity if you choose. The stories you tell are protected, and are solely for the purpose of this feature.
