In the closing decade of the 80s, I set out on a backpacking trip to Europe with a travel partner. Because my friend was considering pursuing a master’s degree in the Big Apple, we had booked a fortnight visit there en route to London.
We got to the graduate housing, a big 10-storey building on the Manhattan's Upper West Side called International House. Setting down our luggage, we headed straight to the canteen, where we got some food, found a table, and began chatting with other diners.
Adjacent to my seat was an gentleman from Iraq studying engineering at a prestigious New York university. He asked me what I my profession was, and I told him that I had just graduated with a degree in science and had been working on studies with electron microscopy.
He mentioned that there was an research lab at the university – right next door to the engineering department, which was how he knew about it. He recommended that I consider applying for a position with them. I dismissed the idea, explaining that I was about to fly to Europe and, even more importantly, I didn’t have a US visa.
The following day I went out exploring, coming back to the dining hall that evening. The man from Iraq walked over to me and told me that he had organized a discussion for me with the leader of the research team at Columbia. Given that he had made the arrangement, I went to the meeting – but straight off informed my host that I didn’t have a visa, so I was probably wasting her time.
In typical New York fashion – a metropolis where anything feels possible – she declared: “We'll handle it. How soon can you begin?” I missed my plane to London.
I was employed there for three years. One of the benefits was that I also received complimentary education at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to finish a master’s of international affairs.
I never saw that student again and I don’t even know his full name, but his incredible act of kindness changed my life in so many ways. I lacked the confidence or self-belief to reach out at an elite institution and request employment. Additionally, I had consistently hoped to study abroad, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that tuition waiver.
Perhaps most importantly, 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 four amazing children. That encounter altered everything. That kind stranger changed my trajectory in life, and I’m forever grateful.
Can you recall the Nicest Thing a Someone You Didn't Know Has Shown for You?
From brightening your mood to changing your life, we are interested in random meetings that have stuck with you.
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