During the late 1980s, I was beginning a backpacking trip to Europe with a friend. Because my friend was considering enrolling in graduate studies in the Big Apple, we had booked a two-week stay there en route to London.
We arrived at the student accommodation, a big 10-storey building on the Upper West Side called International House. Once we unpacked, we went directly to the cafeteria, where we grabbed food, found a table, and started talking to people eating there.
Adjacent to my seat was an gentleman from Iraq studying engineering at Columbia University. He wanted to know what I did, and I shared that I had just graduated with a science degree and had been performing experiments involving microscopic analysis.
He noted that there was an microscopy facility at Columbia University – adjacent to the engineering faculty, which was why he was aware of it. He proposed that I ought to seek a position with them. I dismissed the idea, explaining that I was soon departing 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 organized a discussion for me with the director of the microscopy lab at Columbia. Because he had gone to the trouble, I went to the meeting – but straight off informed my interviewer that I didn’t have a visa, so I was unable to accept the role.
In typical New York fashion – a city where anything feels possible – she declared: “We can make that happen. When can you start?” I missed my plane to London.
I held that position for a trio of years. One of the benefits was that I was granted no-cost classes at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to earn a master’s of international affairs.
I never saw that student again and I can't recall his name, but his remarkable generosity altered my destiny in so many ways. I lacked the confidence or nerve to approach someone at an elite institution and request employment. Moreover, I had consistently hoped to study abroad, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that free tuition.
What's more, that role at the university paved the way for a position in Switzerland where I encountered my wonderful partner, with whom I now have four wonderful sons and daughters. This was a pivotal life event. That kind stranger changed my trajectory in life, and I’m always appreciative.
What is the Nicest Thing a Stranger Has Ever Done for You?
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