During the closing decade of the 80s, I was embarking on a backpacking trip to Europe with a friend. Because my friend was considering starting a postgraduate program in NYC, we had planned a two-week stay there before heading to London.
We arrived at the graduate housing, a sizeable multi-story edifice on the Manhattan's Upper West Side named International House. Once we unpacked, we headed straight to the dining hall, where we picked up meals, took a seat, and began chatting with other diners.
Sitting next to me was an gentleman from Iraq pursuing an engineering degree at a prestigious New York university. He asked me what I did, and I told him that I had newly finished with a scientific background and had been conducting research using an electron microscope.
He mentioned that there was an electron microscope unit at Columbia University – adjacent to the engineering department, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He suggested that I should apply for a job with them. I dismissed the idea, telling him that I was about to fly to Europe and, even more importantly, I did not possess a US visa.
The following day I toured the city, returning to the canteen that after dark. The man from Iraq 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. Because he had taken the effort, I showed up for the discussion – but immediately informed my host that I was without a work permit, so I was probably wasting her time.
In typical New York fashion – a metropolis where anything feels possible – she responded: “We'll handle it. How soon can you begin?” I never got on that flight to London.
I was employed there for three years. A perk of the job was that I also received no-cost classes at Columbia, and I took advantage to finish a postgrad program in international relations.
I lost touch with him and I can't recall his full name, but his selfless gesture altered my destiny in so many ways. I didn't possess the confidence or self-assurance to contact anyone at an Ivy League university and request employment. Moreover, I had consistently hoped to study abroad, but could never have afforded it without that educational benefit.
What's more, that gig at Columbia led me to a job in Zurich where I got to know my beautiful French husband, with whom I am raising four amazing children. It was a total sliding doors moment. That helpful person changed my trajectory in life, and I’m always appreciative.
Can you recall the Kindest Gesture a Unknown Person Has Once Performed for You?
Whether it's making your day to changing your life, we are interested in random meetings that have stuck with you.
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