During the late 1980s, I set out on a backpacking trip to Europe with a travel partner. Since my travel mate was considering enrolling in graduate studies in the Big Apple, we had arranged a 14-day stopover there before heading to London.
We arrived at the postgrad residence, a sizeable 10-storey building 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 began chatting with people eating there.
Beside me was an Iraqi man pursuing an engineering degree at a prestigious New York university. He wanted to know what I did, and I told him that I had newly finished with a science degree and had been conducting research using an electron microscope.
He noted that there was an research lab at the university – close to the engineering faculty, which was how he knew about it. He recommended that I ought to seek a position with them. I dismissed the idea, telling him that I was soon departing to Europe and, more critically, I didn’t have a US visa.
The following day I ventured out, coming back to the dining hall that evening. The man from Iraq 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. Because he had made the arrangement, I went to the meeting – but right away explained to my host that I didn’t have a visa, so I was likely not a suitable candidate.
In typical New York fashion – a place where everything seems achievable – she declared: “That can be arranged. How soon can you begin?” I missed my plane to London.
I worked there for a trio of years. A perk of the job was that I got complimentary education at Columbia, and I seized the chance to finish a graduate degree in global studies.
I never saw that student again and I am unaware of his name, but his remarkable generosity changed my life in multiple respects. I would never have had the bravery or nerve to reach out at an Ivy League university and seek a position. Additionally, I had long dreamed to take classes in another country, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that educational benefit.
Perhaps most importantly, that gig at Columbia paved the way for a role in Europe where I encountered my wonderful partner, with whom I now have four wonderful sons and daughters. That encounter altered everything. That kind stranger changed my trajectory in life, and I’m forever grateful.
Can you recall the Most Generous Act a Stranger Has Shown for You?
From brightening your mood to transforming your future, we would love to know unexpected interactions that have remained in your memory.
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