In the final years of the 1980s, I was embarking on a budget travel adventure to Europe with a companion. Because my friend was interested in starting a postgraduate program in the Big Apple, we had arranged a 14-day stopover there en route to London.
We arrived at the student accommodation, a sizeable 10-storey building on the UWS known as International House. After dropping our bags, we went directly to the cafeteria, where we got some food, took a seat, and began chatting with other diners.
Sitting next to me was an Iraqi man enrolled in an engineering program at an Ivy League institution. He wanted to know what I my profession was, and I shared that I had recently completed my studies with a degree in science and had been working on studies involving microscopic analysis.
He noted that there was an microscopy facility at Columbia University – adjacent to the engineering faculty, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He suggested that I should apply for a position with them. I laughed it off, saying that I was soon departing to Europe and, more critically, I didn’t have a US visa.
The following day I went out exploring, coming back to the dining hall that night. The Iraqi student walked over to me and let me know that he had set up a meeting for me with the leader of the research team at Columbia. Because he had taken the effort, I attended the interview – but right away told my interviewer that I was without a work permit, so I was probably wasting her time.
Reflecting the city's spirit – a metropolis where anything feels possible – she said: “We can make that happen. How soon can you begin?” I never got on that flight to London.
I was employed there for three years. A perk of the job was that I also received complimentary education at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to complete a graduate degree in global studies.
I lost touch with him and I don’t even know his full name, but his remarkable generosity altered my destiny in so many ways. I would never have had the confidence or nerve to approach someone at an elite institution and seek a position. Moreover, I had long dreamed to take classes in another country, but could never have afforded it without that educational benefit.
Perhaps most importantly, that job in New York led me to a position in Switzerland where I encountered my wonderful partner, with whom I now have a family of four kids. That encounter altered everything. That benevolent individual changed my trajectory in life, and I’m eternally thankful.
What is the Most Generous Act a Someone You Didn't Know Has Ever Done for You?
Whether it's brightening your mood to transforming your future, we would love to know chance encounters that have left a lasting impression.
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