During the late 1980s, I set out on a budget travel adventure to the European continent with a companion. Because my travel mate was interested in enrolling in graduate studies in NYC, we had booked a 14-day stopover there before heading to London.
We arrived at the student accommodation, a large ten-floor structure on the Upper West Side named International House. Once we unpacked, we headed straight to the dining hall, where we picked up meals, found a table, and began chatting with people eating there.
Sitting next to me was an individual of Iraqi origin enrolled in an engineering program at an Ivy League institution. He asked me what I did, and I explained that I had recently completed my studies with a scientific background and had been conducting research using an electron microscope.
He noted that there was an microscopy facility at the university – close to the engineering faculty, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He recommended that I ought to seek a position with them. I chuckled at the suggestion, saying that I was soon departing to Europe and, more critically, I did not possess a US visa.
A day later I toured the city, going back to the cafeteria that night. The Iraqi student 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. Because he had taken the effort, I went to the meeting – but right away told my interviewer that I lacked the necessary visa, so I was unable to accept the role.
Reflecting the city's spirit – a metropolis where everything seems achievable – she declared: “We'll handle it. What's your start date?” I missed my plane to London.
I was employed there for 36 months. A perk of the job was that I was granted complimentary education at Columbia, and I took advantage to earn a master’s of international affairs.
I lost touch with him and I can't recall his identity, but his incredible act of kindness altered my destiny in numerous aspects. I would never have had the courage or self-belief to approach someone at an Ivy League university and ask for a job. Moreover, I had long dreamed to take classes in another country, but could never have afforded it without that free tuition.
What's more, that role at the university resulted in a role in Europe where I got to know my handsome spouse from France, with whom I currently share a family of four kids. That encounter altered everything. That helpful person redirected my path in life, and I’m forever grateful.
Can you recall the Nicest Thing a Stranger Has Ever Done for You?
From brightening your mood to transforming your future, we want to hear about unexpected interactions that have stuck with you.
Feel free to recount your experience if you are an adult, without revealing your identity if you choose. The stories you tell are confidential, and are solely for the purpose of this feature.
