During the final years of the 1980s, I set out on a backpacking trip to the European continent with a travel partner. Because my friend was considering enrolling in graduate studies in the Big Apple, we had arranged a two-week stay there before heading to London.
We arrived at the postgrad residence, a large multi-story edifice on the Upper West Side called International House. Once we unpacked, we headed straight to the canteen, where we picked up meals, found a table, and engaged in conversation with people eating there.
Beside me was an Iraqi man enrolled in an engineering program at a prestigious New York university. He inquired what I did for a living, and I told him that I had just graduated with a science degree and had been working on studies involving microscopic analysis.
He mentioned that there was an electron microscope unit at Columbia University – close to the school of engineering, which was why he was aware of it. He suggested that I consider applying for a job with them. I laughed it off, saying that I was about to fly to Europe and, more critically, I lacked a US visa.
The following day I toured the city, coming back to the dining hall that evening. The engineering student came up to me and told me that he had arranged an interview 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 told my prospective employer that I lacked the necessary visa, so I was unable to accept the role.
In typical New York fashion – a place where opportunities abound – she said: “That can be arranged. What's your start date?” I didn't board the aircraft to London.
I was employed there for a trio of years. One of the benefits was that I also received no-cost classes at Columbia, and I seized the chance to earn a graduate degree in global studies.
We didn't cross paths after that and I don’t even know his full name, but his selfless gesture altered my destiny in numerous aspects. I would never have had the courage or nerve to approach someone at an prestigious college and request employment. Additionally, I had long dreamed to study abroad, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that educational benefit.
Critically, that role at the university led me to a position in Switzerland where I got to know my handsome spouse from France, with whom I am raising a family of four kids. This was a pivotal life event. That benevolent individual set me on a different course in life, and I’m eternally thankful.
What is the Kindest Gesture a Unknown Person Has Once Performed for You?
Whether it's brightening your mood to changing your life, we are interested in unexpected interactions that have remained in your memory.
Feel free to recount your experience if you are 18 or over, keeping your details private if you wish. The stories you tell are confidential, and are solely for the goal of sharing inspiring stories.
