During the closing decade of the 80s, I set out on a backpacking trip to Europe with a friend. Since my travel mate was interested in enrolling in graduate studies in NYC, we had planned a 14-day stopover there en route to London.
We got to the student accommodation, a big ten-floor structure on the Manhattan's Upper West Side called International House. Setting down our luggage, we made our way to the cafeteria, where we grabbed food, found a table, and began chatting with people eating there.
Beside me was an Iraqi man studying engineering at an Ivy League institution. He wanted to know what I my profession was, and I shared that I had just graduated with a scientific background and had been performing experiments with electron microscopy.
He noted that there was an microscopy facility at the university – right next door to the school of engineering, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He recommended 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 lacked a US visa.
The following day I toured the city, returning to the canteen that evening. The engineering student approached me and let me know that he had organized a discussion for me with the director of the microscopy lab at Columbia. Because he had taken the effort, I attended the interview – but straight off informed my interviewer that I was without a work permit, so I was probably wasting her time.
Reflecting the city's spirit – a place where everything seems achievable – she said: “We can make that happen. What's your start date?” I never got on that flight to London.
I was employed there for three years. One of the benefits was that I got no-cost classes at Columbia, and I took advantage to earn a graduate degree in global studies.
We didn't cross paths after that and I can't recall his full name, but his incredible act of kindness changed my life in so many ways. I would never have had the confidence or self-belief to reach out at an prestigious college and request employment. Additionally, I had consistently hoped to study abroad, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that tuition waiver.
What's more, that role at the university resulted in a role in Europe where I got to know my handsome spouse from France, with whom I now have four wonderful sons and daughters. That encounter altered everything. That helpful person changed my trajectory in life, and I’m always appreciative.
What is the Most Generous Act a Someone You Didn't Know Has Ever Done for You?
Whether it's making your day to altering your path, we are interested in unexpected interactions that have remained in your memory.
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