In the final years of the 1980s, I was embarking on a low-cost journey to the European continent with a companion. Because my friend was interested in pursuing a master’s degree in New York, we had arranged a 14-day stopover there on the way to London.
We got to the graduate housing, a sizeable ten-floor structure on the Manhattan's Upper West Side known as International House. Setting down our luggage, we headed straight to the cafeteria, where we grabbed food, found a table, and started talking to people eating there.
Beside me was an gentleman from Iraq pursuing an engineering degree at a prestigious New York university. He wanted to know what I did for a living, and I shared that I had recently completed my studies with a degree in science and had been working on studies with electron microscopy.
He noted that there was an microscopy facility at Columbia University – adjacent to the engineering department, which was how he knew about it. He suggested that I consider applying for a job with them. I laughed it off, explaining that I was about to fly to Europe and, additionally, I didn’t have a US visa.
The next day I ventured out, coming back to the dining hall that night. The engineering 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. Given that he had made the arrangement, I attended the interview – but right away told my interviewer that I lacked the necessary visa, so I was likely not a suitable candidate.
Reflecting the city's spirit – a place where opportunities abound – she said: “We'll handle it. How soon can you begin?” I never got on that flight to London.
I worked there for a trio of years. A perk of the job was that I was granted no-cost classes at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to finish 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 altered my destiny in so many ways. I lacked the confidence or nerve to contact anyone at an Ivy League university and request employment. And, I had always wanted to take classes in another country, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that tuition waiver.
Perhaps most importantly, that gig at Columbia resulted in a role in Europe where I met my beautiful French husband, with whom I am raising four amazing children. That encounter altered everything. That kind stranger redirected my path in life, and I’m eternally thankful.
Can you recall the Nicest Thing a Someone You Didn't Know Has Once Performed for You?
Whether it's making your day to transforming your future, we are interested in chance encounters that have left a lasting impression.
Feel free to recount your experience if you are an adult, without revealing your identity if you wish. What you share are protected, and are solely for the purpose of this feature.
