During the final years of the 1980s, I was beginning a budget travel adventure to Europe with a travel partner. Because my travel mate was considering starting a postgraduate program in the Big Apple, we had arranged a two-week stay there before heading to London.
We arrived at the student accommodation, a sizeable ten-floor structure on the Upper West Side known as International House. Setting down our luggage, we went directly to the cafeteria, where we picked up meals, found a table, and engaged in conversation with other diners.
Adjacent to my seat was an individual of Iraqi origin pursuing an engineering degree at Columbia University. He asked me what I my profession was, and I told him that I had just graduated with a scientific background and had been working on studies using an electron microscope.
He mentioned that there was an research lab at the institution – right next door to the engineering faculty, which was why he was aware of it. He proposed that I consider applying for a position with them. I dismissed the idea, telling him that I was soon departing to Europe and, additionally, I did not possess a US visa.
The following day I went out exploring, returning to the canteen that night. The Iraqi student walked over to me and told me that he had set up a meeting for me with the leader of the research team at Columbia. Since he had gone to the trouble, I went to the meeting – but immediately explained to my interviewer that I was without a work permit, so I was probably wasting her time.
In typical New York fashion – a city where anything feels possible – she declared: “We can make that happen. What's your start date?” I didn't board the aircraft to London.
I was employed there for a trio of years. A perk of the job was that I got no-cost classes at Columbia, and I took advantage to complete a postgrad program in international relations.
I never saw that student again and I can't recall his identity, but his remarkable generosity transformed my future in so many ways. I didn't possess the confidence or self-belief to reach out at an elite institution and ask for a job. Additionally, I had long dreamed to pursue education overseas, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that tuition waiver.
Perhaps most importantly, that role at the university paved the way for a position in Switzerland where I got to know my beautiful French husband, with whom I now have four wonderful sons and daughters. It was a total sliding doors moment. That kind stranger set me on a different course in life, and I’m always appreciative.
Can you recall the Most Generous Act a Stranger Has Ever Done for You?
Whether it's brightening your mood to transforming your future, we would love to know random meetings that have stuck with you.
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