During the final years of the 1980s, I was embarking on a low-cost journey to Europe with a companion. Since my companion was exploring enrolling in graduate studies in the Big Apple, we had planned a two-week stay there on the way to London.
We reached the student accommodation, a large multi-story edifice on the Manhattan's Upper West Side named International House. Setting down our luggage, we made our way to the dining hall, where we got some food, took a seat, and began chatting with other diners.
Beside me was an individual of Iraqi origin pursuing an engineering degree at Columbia University. He asked me what I did for a living, and I shared that I had newly finished with a science degree and had been performing experiments using an electron microscope.
He mentioned that there was an research lab at Columbia University – close to the engineering faculty, which was why he was aware of it. He recommended that I consider applying for a role with them. I dismissed the idea, explaining that I was soon departing to Europe and, more critically, I did not possess a US visa.
The following day I ventured out, coming back to the dining hall that evening. The Iraqi student walked over to me and let me know that he had set up a meeting for me with the director of the microscopy lab at Columbia. Given that he had gone to the trouble, I went to the meeting – but immediately informed my interviewer that I was without a work permit, so I was unable to accept the role.
In typical New York fashion – a city where opportunities abound – she said: “We can make that happen. What's your start date?” I missed my plane to London.
I worked there for a trio of years. One of the benefits was that I got free tuition at Columbia, and I seized the chance to finish a graduate degree in global studies.
I never saw that student again and I can't recall his identity, but his remarkable generosity transformed my future in so many ways. I didn't possess the bravery or self-belief to contact anyone at an elite institution and ask for a job. Moreover, I had long dreamed to pursue education overseas, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that tuition waiver.
What's more, that gig at Columbia led me to a position in Switzerland where I met my wonderful partner, with whom I now have a family of four kids. That encounter altered everything. That kind stranger set me on a different course in life, and I’m eternally thankful.
Can you recall the Most Generous Act a Someone You Didn't Know Has Once Performed for You?
From cheering you up to changing your life, we are interested in unexpected interactions that have remained in your memory.
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