In the closing decade of the 80s, I was embarking on a budget travel adventure to the European continent with a travel partner. Because my companion was interested in enrolling in graduate studies in NYC, we had booked a 14-day stopover there en route to London.
We reached the student accommodation, a big 10-storey building on the Manhattan's Upper West Side known as International House. Setting down our luggage, we made our way to the dining hall, where we got some food, sat down, and began chatting with people eating there.
Adjacent to my seat was an gentleman from Iraq studying engineering at a prestigious New York university. He inquired what I did, and I told him that I had recently completed my studies with a degree in science and had been performing experiments using an electron microscope.
He pointed out that there was an electron microscope unit at Columbia University – adjacent to the school of engineering, which was how he knew about it. He suggested that I ought to seek a position with them. I laughed it off, explaining that I was about to fly to Europe and, more critically, I did not possess a US visa.
The next day I ventured out, coming back to the dining hall that after dark. The man from Iraq approached me and let me know that he had organized a discussion for me with the head of the electron microscope unit at Columbia. Given that he had gone to the trouble, I showed up for the discussion – but right away told my host 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. How soon can you begin?” I missed my plane to London.
I held that position for 36 months. An advantage of the role was that I got complimentary education at Columbia, and I took advantage to complete a graduate degree in global studies.
I lost touch with him and I can't recall his full name, but his remarkable generosity transformed my future in so many ways. I lacked the confidence or self-belief to approach someone at an Ivy League university and seek a position. Moreover, I had long dreamed to study abroad, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that tuition waiver.
Critically, that gig at Columbia led me to a position in Switzerland where I encountered my handsome spouse from France, with whom I now have a family of four kids. It was a total sliding doors moment. That benevolent individual set me on a different course in life, and I’m always appreciative.
Can you recall the Most Generous Act a Stranger Has Shown for You?
Whether it's brightening your mood to altering your path, we would love to know unexpected interactions that have stuck with you.
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