During the late 1980s, I set out on a budget travel adventure to the European continent with a travel partner. Since my companion was interested in pursuing a master’s degree in the Big Apple, we had arranged a two-week stay there en route to London.
We arrived at the postgrad residence, a big multi-story edifice on the Upper West Side called International House. Once we unpacked, we made our way to the canteen, where we got some food, found a table, and engaged in conversation with people eating there.
Sitting next to me was an individual of Iraqi origin enrolled in an engineering program at an Ivy League institution. He inquired what I did for a living, and I told him that I had just graduated with a science degree and had been working on studies involving microscopic analysis.
He mentioned that there was an research lab at the university – adjacent to the engineering faculty, which was how he knew about it. He suggested that I should apply for a role with them. I dismissed the idea, saying that I was about to fly to Europe and, more critically, I did not possess a US visa.
The following day I went out exploring, returning to the canteen that evening. The man from Iraq came up to me and let me know that he had arranged an interview for me with the leader of the research team at Columbia. Because he had taken the effort, I went to the meeting – but straight off explained to my host that I didn’t have a visa, so I was probably wasting her time.
Reflecting the city's spirit – a city where anything feels possible – she responded: “We can make that happen. What's your start date?” I missed my plane to London.
I worked there for three years. A perk of the job was that I was granted no-cost classes at Columbia, and I took advantage to finish a graduate degree in global studies.
I never saw that student again and I don’t even know his name, but his incredible act of kindness changed my life in multiple respects. I lacked the bravery or self-belief to reach out at an elite institution and ask for a job. Additionally, I had always wanted to study abroad, but could never have afforded it without that free tuition.
What's more, that job in New York resulted in a role in Europe where I met my handsome spouse from France, with whom I currently share a family of four kids. That encounter altered everything. That helpful person redirected my path in life, and I’m eternally thankful.
Can you recall the Most Generous Act a Stranger Has Shown for You?
Whether it's making your day to altering your path, we are interested in chance encounters that have stuck with you.
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