During the final years of the 1980s, I set out on a low-cost journey to the European continent with a travel partner. Because my friend was considering enrolling in graduate studies in the Big Apple, we had booked a 14-day stopover there en route to London.
We reached the postgrad residence, a large ten-floor structure on the Manhattan's Upper West Side named International House. Once we unpacked, we went directly to the dining hall, where we grabbed food, sat down, and engaged in conversation with fellow residents.
Beside me was an Iraqi man pursuing an engineering degree at Columbia University. He asked me what I my profession was, and I shared that I had just graduated with a scientific background and had been performing experiments with electron microscopy.
He mentioned that there was an microscopy facility at the institution – close to the school of engineering, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He proposed that I ought to seek a position with them. I chuckled at the suggestion, telling him that I was soon departing to Europe and, more critically, I lacked a US visa.
A day later I toured the city, coming back to the dining hall that after dark. The Iraqi student approached me and let me know that he had organized a discussion for me with the head of the electron microscope unit at Columbia. Since he had taken the effort, I went to the meeting – but immediately explained to my prospective employer that I was without a work permit, so I was unable to accept the role.
As is common in NYC – a city where anything feels possible – she responded: “We can make that happen. What's your start date?” I didn't board the aircraft to London.
I worked there for a trio of years. A perk of the job was that I was granted free tuition at Columbia, and I took advantage to complete a master’s of international affairs.
I never saw that student again and I am unaware of his full name, but his incredible act of kindness changed my life in so many ways. I lacked the bravery or nerve to contact anyone at an Ivy League university and seek a position. Moreover, I had long dreamed to pursue education overseas, but could never have afforded it without that free tuition.
Critically, that role at the university resulted in a role in Europe where I encountered my beautiful French husband, with whom I am raising a family of four kids. It was a total sliding doors moment. That kind stranger changed my trajectory in life, and I’m forever grateful.
Can you recall the Kindest Gesture a Someone You Didn't Know Has Once Performed for You?
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