During the late 1980s, I set out on a backpacking trip to the European continent with a friend. Since my companion was exploring starting a postgraduate program in NYC, we had arranged a two-week stay there on the way to London.
We reached the graduate housing, a big 10-storey building on the Manhattan's Upper West Side named International House. Once we unpacked, we headed straight to the canteen, where we got some food, found a table, and began chatting with fellow residents.
Adjacent to my seat was an Iraqi man enrolled in an engineering program at a prestigious New York university. He wanted to know what I did for a living, and I explained that I had recently completed my studies with a degree in science and had been conducting research involving microscopic analysis.
He mentioned that there was an research lab at Columbia University – adjacent to the engineering department, which was how he knew about it. He proposed that I should apply for a job with them. I laughed it off, telling him that I was heading off to Europe and, more critically, I did not possess a US visa.
A day later I toured the city, coming back to the dining hall that night. The man from Iraq came up to me and told me that he had arranged an interview for me with the head of the electron microscope unit at Columbia. Since he had taken the effort, I attended the interview – but right away told my interviewer that I was without a work permit, so I was probably wasting her time.
As is common in NYC – a metropolis where anything feels possible – she declared: “That can be arranged. What's your start date?” I didn't board the aircraft to London.
I worked there for three years. A perk of the job was that I was granted free tuition at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to finish a postgrad program in international relations.
I never saw that student again and I am unaware of his identity, but his remarkable generosity transformed my future in numerous aspects. I lacked the bravery or self-assurance to approach someone at an elite institution and seek a position. And, I had consistently hoped to take classes in another country, but could never have afforded it without that tuition waiver.
Perhaps most importantly, that job in New York resulted in a position in Switzerland where I met my handsome spouse from France, with whom I now have four amazing children. That encounter altered everything. That benevolent individual set me on a different course in life, and I’m eternally thankful.
What is the Kindest Gesture a Stranger Has Ever Done for You?
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