In the closing decade of the 80s, I set out on a budget travel adventure to the European continent with a travel partner. Because my travel mate was interested in starting a postgraduate program in New York, we had booked a two-week stay there en route to London.
We reached the postgrad residence, a sizeable ten-floor structure on the Manhattan's Upper West Side called International House. After dropping our bags, we went directly to the canteen, where we picked up meals, found a table, and began chatting with fellow residents.
Adjacent to my seat was an individual of Iraqi origin studying engineering at a prestigious New York university. He inquired what I did, and I shared that I had just graduated with a scientific background and had been conducting research with electron microscopy.
He noted that there was an microscopy facility at the university – adjacent to the engineering faculty, which was why he was aware of it. He suggested that I should apply for a position with them. I laughed it off, saying that I was about to fly to Europe and, additionally, I didn’t have a US visa.
A day later I toured the city, returning to the canteen that evening. The engineering student approached me and let me know that he had set up a meeting for me with the director of the microscopy lab at Columbia. Because he had taken the effort, I showed up for the discussion – but straight off told my interviewer that I lacked the necessary visa, so I was unable to accept the role.
In typical New York fashion – a city where anything feels possible – she said: “That can be arranged. How soon can you begin?” I missed my plane to London.
I held that position for three years. A perk of the job was that I got free tuition at Columbia, and I took advantage to complete a master’s of international affairs.
I lost touch with him and I can't recall his name, but his remarkable generosity changed my life in multiple respects. I would never have had the confidence or self-belief to approach someone at an elite institution and request employment. Additionally, I had always wanted to take classes in another country, but lacked the financial means without that free tuition.
Critically, that job in New York paved the way for a role in Europe where I encountered my beautiful French husband, with whom I currently share four amazing children. That encounter altered everything. That benevolent individual changed my trajectory in life, and I’m eternally thankful.
Can you recall the Kindest Gesture a Someone You Didn't Know Has Ever Done for You?
Whether it's brightening your mood to transforming your future, we are interested in chance encounters that have remained in your memory.
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