During the closing decade of the 80s, I was beginning a low-cost journey to the European continent with a travel partner. Because my companion was exploring starting a postgraduate program in NYC, we had planned a 14-day stopover there on the way to London.
We got to the graduate housing, a big ten-floor structure on the Manhattan's Upper West Side known as International House. Once we unpacked, we went directly to the cafeteria, where we grabbed food, found a table, and started talking to people eating there.
Beside me was an Iraqi man studying engineering at Columbia University. He wanted to know what I did, and I shared that I had newly finished with a science degree and had been working on studies involving microscopic analysis.
He pointed out that there was an electron microscope unit at the university – close to the engineering department, which was why he was aware of it. He recommended that I should apply for a position with them. I laughed it off, saying that I was about to fly to Europe and, more critically, I lacked a US visa.
A day later I ventured out, coming back to the dining hall that evening. The engineering student approached me and told me that he had organized a discussion for me with the director of the microscopy lab at Columbia. Because he had taken the effort, I attended the interview – but right away informed my host that I was without a work permit, so I was likely not a suitable candidate.
Reflecting the city's spirit – a metropolis where anything feels possible – she responded: “We can make that happen. How soon can you begin?” I never got on that flight to London.
I worked there for 36 months. A perk of the job was that I was granted no-cost classes at Columbia, and I took advantage to complete a postgrad program in international relations.
We didn't cross paths after that and I am unaware of his full name, but his selfless gesture changed my life in so many ways. I would never have had the bravery or self-belief to reach out at an prestigious college and ask for a job. Moreover, I had long dreamed to take classes in another country, but could never have afforded it without that educational benefit.
Perhaps most importantly, that job in New York led me to a position in Switzerland where I got to know my beautiful French husband, with whom I now have a family of four kids. This was a pivotal life event. That benevolent individual 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 Shown for You?
Whether it's cheering you up to transforming your future, we want to hear about chance encounters that have left a lasting impression.
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