During the closing decade of the 80s, I set out on a backpacking trip to Europe with a friend. Since my companion was exploring pursuing a master’s degree in New York, we had arranged a two-week stay there before heading to London.
We reached the student accommodation, a large 10-storey building on the Manhattan's Upper West Side called International House. Setting down our luggage, we made our way to the cafeteria, where we picked up meals, found a table, and began chatting with people eating there.
Beside me was an Iraqi man studying engineering at Columbia University. He inquired 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 research lab at the institution – right next door to the engineering department, which was how he knew about it. He proposed that I should apply for a position with them. I chuckled at the suggestion, telling him that I was about to fly to Europe and, more critically, I lacked a US visa.
A day later I went out exploring, going back to the cafeteria that night. The engineering student walked over to me and let me know that he had set up a meeting for me with the head of the electron microscope unit at Columbia. Since he had taken the effort, I went to the meeting – but immediately told my interviewer that I lacked the necessary visa, so I was unable to accept the role.
As is common in NYC – a metropolis where opportunities abound – she declared: “We'll handle it. What's your start date?” I never got on that flight to London.
I held that position for 36 months. An advantage of the role was that I also received complimentary education at Columbia, and I took advantage to complete a graduate degree in global studies.
We didn't cross paths after that and I don’t even know his identity, but his remarkable generosity changed my life in multiple respects. I lacked the courage or nerve to contact anyone at an Ivy League university and ask for a job. And, I had always wanted to study abroad, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that tuition waiver.
Critically, that gig at Columbia paved the way for a position in Switzerland where I got to know my beautiful French husband, with whom I currently share four wonderful sons and daughters. This was a pivotal life event. That helpful person changed my trajectory in life, and I’m eternally thankful.
Can you recall the Nicest Thing a Stranger Has Shown for You?
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