During the closing decade of the 80s, I was embarking on a backpacking trip to the European continent with a friend. Because my friend was considering starting a postgraduate program in New York, we had planned a fortnight visit there on the way to London.
We got to the student accommodation, a sizeable 10-storey building on the Manhattan's Upper West Side called International House. Setting down our luggage, we went directly to the cafeteria, where we picked up meals, found a table, and started talking to people eating there.
Beside me was an individual of Iraqi origin pursuing an engineering degree at an Ivy League institution. He inquired what I did for a living, and I told him that I had recently completed my studies with a degree in science and had been conducting research with electron microscopy.
He mentioned that there was an microscopy facility at the university – right next door to the engineering department, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He recommended that I consider applying for a job with them. I chuckled at the suggestion, telling him that I was soon departing to Europe and, additionally, I lacked a US visa.
A day later I went out exploring, coming back to the dining hall that after dark. The Iraqi student walked over to me and informed 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 attended the interview – but straight off informed my interviewer that I lacked the necessary visa, so I was unable to accept the role.
In typical New York fashion – a metropolis where everything seems achievable – she said: “We'll handle it. What's your start date?” I didn't board the aircraft to London.
I worked there for 36 months. A perk of the job was that I was granted no-cost classes at Columbia, and I seized the chance to finish a graduate degree in global studies.
I never saw that student again and I don’t even know his identity, but his selfless gesture altered my destiny in so many ways. I didn't possess the confidence or self-assurance to reach out at an elite institution and seek a position. And, I had always wanted to take classes in another country, but lacked the financial means without that tuition waiver.
What's more, that gig at Columbia paved the way for a job in Zurich where I got to know my beautiful French husband, with whom I now have four amazing children. That encounter altered everything. That benevolent individual set me on a different course in life, and I’m always appreciative.
What is the Nicest Thing a Stranger Has Once Performed for You?
From brightening your mood to altering your path, we are interested in chance encounters that have remained in your memory.
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