In the final years of the 1980s, I was embarking on a budget travel adventure to Europe with a friend. Since my companion was considering pursuing a master’s degree in New York, we had arranged a two-week stay there before heading to London.
We arrived at the postgrad residence, a sizeable ten-floor structure on the Manhattan's Upper West Side known as International House. After dropping our bags, we made our way to the canteen, where we picked up meals, found a table, and engaged in conversation with people eating there.
Beside me was an gentleman from Iraq studying engineering at Columbia University. He asked me what I did for a living, and I shared that I had just graduated with a science degree and had been conducting research with electron microscopy.
He pointed out that there was an microscopy facility at the university – right next door to the school of engineering, which was how he knew about it. He proposed that I ought to seek a role with them. I chuckled at the suggestion, explaining that I was about to fly to Europe and, additionally, I didn’t have a US visa.
The next day I went out exploring, returning to the canteen that evening. 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 went to the meeting – but straight off informed my interviewer that I didn’t have a visa, so I was likely not a suitable candidate.
In typical New York fashion – a city where anything feels possible – she responded: “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. One of the benefits was that I got no-cost classes at Columbia, and I seized the chance to earn a graduate degree in global studies.
I lost touch with him and I am unaware of his name, but his selfless gesture altered my destiny in so many ways. I would never have had the courage or nerve to approach someone at an Ivy League university and seek a position. Additionally, I had always wanted to study abroad, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that tuition waiver.
What's more, that gig at Columbia led me to a job in Zurich where I met my beautiful French husband, with whom I am raising a family of four kids. It was a total sliding doors moment. That benevolent individual changed my trajectory in life, and I’m eternally thankful.
What is the Nicest Thing a Someone You Didn't Know Has Shown for You?
From making your day to transforming your future, we are interested in random meetings that have remained in your memory.
Feel free to recount your experience if you are 18 or over, keeping your details private if you prefer. What you share are protected, and are intended for the aim of this article.
