During the final years of the 1980s, I was beginning a backpacking trip to Europe with a companion. Since my travel mate was exploring starting a postgraduate program in the Big Apple, we had arranged a two-week stay there en route to London.
We arrived at the graduate housing, a large multi-story edifice on the UWS named International House. Once we unpacked, we made our way to the cafeteria, where we got some food, sat down, and started talking to people eating there.
Sitting next to me was an Iraqi man enrolled in an engineering program at an Ivy League institution. He wanted to know what I did for a living, and I told him that I had just graduated with a science degree and had been conducting research with electron microscopy.
He mentioned that there was an electron microscope unit at the university – adjacent to the engineering faculty, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He suggested that I consider applying for a position with them. I laughed it off, explaining that I was about to fly to Europe and, more critically, I lacked a US visa.
A day later I toured the city, returning to the canteen that night. The man from Iraq walked over to me and told me that he had set up a meeting for me with the head of the electron microscope unit at Columbia. Because he had taken the effort, I went to the meeting – but immediately informed my host that I was without a work permit, so I was unable to accept the role.
As is common in NYC – a place where anything feels possible – she declared: “That can be arranged. How soon can you begin?” I missed my plane to London.
I held that position for a trio of years. An advantage of the role was that I also received no-cost classes at Columbia, and I seized the chance to earn a postgrad program in international relations.
I never saw that student again and I don’t even know his identity, but his remarkable generosity altered my destiny in numerous aspects. I lacked the bravery or self-assurance to reach out at an elite institution and seek a position. Moreover, I had consistently hoped to study abroad, but could never have afforded it without that free tuition.
Critically, that gig at Columbia resulted in a job in Zurich where I got to know my beautiful French husband, with whom I am raising four amazing children. This was a pivotal life event. That helpful person set me on a different course in life, and I’m eternally thankful.
Can you recall the Kindest Gesture a Stranger Has Shown for You?
From brightening your mood to altering your path, we would love to know unexpected interactions that have stuck with you.
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