During the final years of the 1980s, I was beginning a low-cost journey to the European continent with a companion. Because my travel mate was considering pursuing a master’s degree in New York, we had booked a fortnight visit there before heading to London.
We got to the graduate housing, a sizeable 10-storey building on the Upper West Side known as International House. Setting down our luggage, we headed straight to the cafeteria, where we grabbed food, sat down, and engaged in conversation with other diners.
Adjacent to my seat was an Iraqi man enrolled in an engineering program at a prestigious New York university. He asked me what I did for a living, and I told him that I had newly finished with a science degree and had been performing experiments using an electron microscope.
He pointed out that there was an microscopy facility at the institution – close to the engineering department, which was how he knew about it. He proposed that I ought to seek a job with them. I dismissed the idea, saying that I was about to fly to Europe and, more critically, I didn’t have a US visa.
A day later I ventured out, returning to the canteen that night. The engineering student came up to me and let me know that he had arranged an interview for me with the head of the electron microscope unit at Columbia. Because he had gone to the trouble, I went to the meeting – but straight off told my prospective employer that I was without a work permit, so I was probably wasting her time.
Reflecting the city's spirit – a place where opportunities abound – she declared: “We can make that happen. When can you start?” I missed my plane to London.
I held that position for 36 months. One of the benefits was that I also received no-cost classes at Columbia, and I seized the chance to complete a master’s of international affairs.
I lost touch with him and I can't recall his name, but his remarkable generosity transformed my future in multiple respects. I lacked the bravery or nerve to reach out at an Ivy League university and seek a position. Moreover, I had always wanted to take classes in another country, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that educational benefit.
Critically, that job in New York resulted in a job in Zurich where I encountered my handsome spouse from France, with whom I now have four amazing children. It was a total sliding doors moment. That kind stranger set me on a different course in life, and I’m eternally thankful.
What is the Kindest Gesture a Stranger Has Once Performed for You?
Whether it's brightening your mood to altering your path, we are interested in unexpected interactions that have stuck with you.
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