During the closing decade of the 80s, I set out on a backpacking trip to Europe with a companion. Since my companion was interested in starting a postgraduate program in NYC, we had arranged a two-week stay there before heading to London.
We arrived at the student accommodation, a sizeable ten-floor structure on the Manhattan's Upper West Side named International House. Once we unpacked, we headed straight to the canteen, where we picked up meals, found a table, and started talking to people eating there.
Adjacent to my seat was an individual of Iraqi origin pursuing an engineering degree 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 scientific background and had been working on studies involving microscopic analysis.
He mentioned that there was an research lab at the institution – right next door to the school of engineering, which was how he knew about it. He proposed that I ought to seek a position with them. I chuckled at the suggestion, saying that I was about to fly to Europe and, more critically, I lacked a US visa.
The following day I went out exploring, coming back to the dining hall that after dark. The engineering student approached me and informed me that he had set up a meeting for me with the head of the electron microscope unit at Columbia. Given that he had made the arrangement, I showed up for the discussion – but straight off told my interviewer that I didn’t have a visa, so I was unable to accept the role.
In typical New York fashion – a place where everything seems achievable – she declared: “We can make that happen. How soon can you begin?” I never got on that flight to London.
I held that position for a trio of years. An advantage of the role was that I was granted no-cost classes at Columbia, and I seized the chance to earn a postgrad program in international relations.
I never saw that student again and I don’t even know his full name, but his selfless gesture transformed my future in numerous aspects. I would never have had the bravery or nerve to approach someone at an elite institution and ask for a job. Additionally, I had always wanted to study abroad, but lacked the financial means without that educational benefit.
Perhaps most importantly, that gig at Columbia resulted in a role in Europe where I got to know my handsome spouse from France, with whom I now have a family of four kids. That encounter altered everything. That helpful person changed my trajectory in life, and I’m forever grateful.
What is the Most Generous Act a Stranger Has Once Performed for You?
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