During the final years of the 1980s, I set out on a low-cost journey to the European continent with a friend. Since my friend was considering pursuing a master’s degree in NYC, we had planned a fortnight visit there en route to London.
We got to the postgrad residence, a sizeable multi-story edifice on the Upper West Side known as International House. After dropping our bags, we made our way to the canteen, where we picked up meals, sat down, and began chatting with people eating there.
Adjacent to my seat was an Iraqi man studying engineering at Columbia 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 mentioned that there was an microscopy facility at the university – adjacent to the engineering faculty, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He proposed that I consider applying for a role with them. I dismissed the idea, saying that I was heading off to Europe and, more critically, I did not possess a US visa.
A day later I went out exploring, returning to the canteen that night. The Iraqi student walked over to me and informed me that he had arranged an interview for me with the director of the microscopy lab at Columbia. Because he had taken the effort, I attended the interview – but immediately informed my prospective employer that I lacked the necessary visa, so I was probably wasting her time.
In typical New York fashion – a city where everything seems achievable – she responded: “We'll handle it. When can you start?” I never got on that flight to London.
I held that position for 36 months. One of the benefits was that I also received complimentary education at Columbia, and I seized the chance to complete a postgrad program in international relations.
We didn't cross paths after that and I don’t even know his name, but his incredible act of kindness altered my destiny in multiple respects. I would never have had the courage or self-belief to reach out 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.
What's more, that role at the university resulted in a job in Zurich where I got to know my handsome spouse from France, with whom I am raising a family of four kids. It was a total sliding doors moment. That benevolent individual redirected my path in life, and I’m always appreciative.
What is the Kindest Gesture a Unknown Person Has Once Performed for You?
Whether it's cheering you up to changing your life, we would love to know chance encounters that have remained in your memory.
Feel free to recount your experience if you are an adult, anonymously if you wish. Your responses are confidential, and are solely for the purpose of this feature.
