In the final years of the 1980s, I was beginning a budget travel adventure to the European continent with a companion. Since my companion was exploring starting a postgraduate program in the Big Apple, we had arranged a 14-day stopover there before heading to London.
We got to the graduate housing, a sizeable ten-floor structure on the Upper West Side called International House. Once we unpacked, we made our way to the canteen, where we grabbed food, took a seat, and began chatting with fellow residents.
Beside me was an Iraqi man studying engineering at an Ivy League institution. He wanted to know what I did, and I shared that I had just graduated 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 suggested that I consider applying for a job with them. I laughed it off, saying that I was about to fly to Europe and, more critically, I did not possess a US visa.
The following day I toured the city, going back to the cafeteria that after dark. The man from Iraq walked over to me and told me that he had organized a discussion for me with the director of the microscopy lab at Columbia. Since he had gone to the trouble, I went to the meeting – but immediately told my host that I didn’t have a visa, so I was unable to accept the role.
In typical New York fashion – a place where opportunities abound – she declared: “That can be arranged. When can you start?” I didn't board the aircraft to London.
I was employed there for three years. An advantage of the role was that I got free tuition at Columbia, and I took advantage to earn a master’s of international affairs.
I never saw that student again and I don’t even know his full name, but his remarkable generosity transformed my future in multiple respects. I lacked the confidence or nerve to reach out at an Ivy League university and ask for a job. Moreover, I had always wanted to take classes in another country, but could never have afforded it without that educational benefit.
Critically, that gig at Columbia led me to a job in Zurich where I got to know my beautiful French husband, with whom I now have four amazing children. That encounter altered everything. That kind stranger redirected my path in life, and I’m always appreciative.
What is the Nicest Thing a Someone You Didn't Know Has Shown for You?
Whether it's making your day to transforming your future, we would love to know random meetings that have remained in your memory.
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