In the final years of the 1980s, I was embarking on a low-cost journey to the European continent with a travel partner. Since my friend was exploring enrolling in graduate studies in New York, we had arranged a two-week stay there before heading to London.
We reached the postgrad residence, 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 started talking to people eating there.
Sitting next to me was an Iraqi man studying engineering at a prestigious New York university. He wanted to know what I my profession was, and I told him that I had newly finished with a science degree and had been performing experiments using an electron microscope.
He mentioned that there was an research lab at the institution – right next door to the engineering department, which was why he was aware of it. He recommended that I ought to seek a role with them. I chuckled at the suggestion, telling him that I was soon departing to Europe and, more critically, I lacked a US visa.
The next day I toured the city, coming back to the dining hall that evening. The Iraqi student came up to me and let me know that he had organized a discussion for me with the leader of the research team at Columbia. Because he had gone to the trouble, I attended the interview – but immediately told my host that I didn’t have a visa, so I was unable to accept the role.
In typical New York fashion – a city where anything feels possible – she declared: “We'll handle it. When can you start?” I missed my plane to London.
I was employed there for a trio of years. One of the benefits was that I also received free tuition at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to earn a postgrad program in international relations.
I lost touch with him and I don’t even know his identity, but his incredible act of kindness transformed my future in multiple respects. I would never have had the confidence or self-assurance to contact anyone at an prestigious college 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.
What's more, that job in New York led me to a role in Europe 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 always appreciative.
Can you recall the Kindest Gesture a Stranger Has Once Performed for You?
From making your day to altering your path, we are interested in unexpected interactions that have stuck with you.
Feel free to recount your experience if you are of legal age, anonymously if you choose. What you share are protected, and are intended for the purpose of this feature.
