During the final years of the 1980s, I set out on a budget travel adventure to Europe with a travel partner. Because my travel mate was considering enrolling in graduate studies in the Big Apple, we had booked a 14-day stopover there on the way to London.
We reached the graduate housing, a large 10-storey building on the Manhattan's Upper West Side called International House. After dropping our bags, we went directly to the dining hall, where we picked up meals, took a seat, and began chatting with fellow residents.
Sitting next to me was an gentleman from Iraq pursuing an engineering degree at an Ivy League institution. He asked me what I did for a living, and I told him that I had just graduated with a science degree and had been conducting research involving microscopic analysis.
He mentioned that there was an research lab at the institution – close to the engineering department, which was how he knew about it. He suggested that I consider applying for a job with them. I dismissed the idea, telling him that I was heading off to Europe and, additionally, I lacked a US visa.
A day later I toured the city, going back to the cafeteria that after dark. The man from Iraq walked over to me and let me know that he had set up a meeting for me with the head of the electron microscope unit at Columbia. Since he had gone to the trouble, I went to the meeting – but immediately informed my host that I was without a work permit, so I was probably wasting her time.
Reflecting the city's spirit – a city where anything feels possible – she said: “We can make that happen. What's your start date?” I never got on that flight to London.
I held that position for a trio of years. A perk of the job was that I was granted no-cost classes at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to complete a graduate degree in global studies.
We didn't cross paths after that and I can't recall his name, but his selfless gesture altered my destiny in multiple respects. I would never have had the confidence or self-assurance to contact anyone at an Ivy League university and ask for a job. And, I had long dreamed to pursue education overseas, but lacked the financial means without that educational benefit.
Critically, that job in New York resulted in a position in Switzerland where I got to know my beautiful French husband, with whom I now have four wonderful sons and daughters. That encounter altered everything. That kind stranger set me on a different course 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 cheering you up to altering your path, we are interested in random meetings that have remained in your memory.
Feel free to recount your experience if you are of legal age, anonymously if you choose. Your responses are secure, and are solely for the purpose of this feature.
