During the late 1980s, I set out on a backpacking trip to the European continent with a travel partner. Since my travel mate was considering enrolling in graduate studies in the Big Apple, we had booked a fortnight visit there before heading to London.
We got to the graduate housing, a big 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 picked up meals, sat down, and started talking to people eating there.
Sitting next to me was an Iraqi man studying engineering at a prestigious New York university. He inquired what I did for a living, and I explained that I had recently completed my studies with a science degree and had been performing experiments with electron microscopy.
He noted that there was an microscopy facility at the university – right next door to the engineering faculty, which was how he knew about it. He suggested that I ought to seek a role with them. I dismissed the idea, explaining that I was heading off to Europe and, additionally, I didn’t have a US visa.
The next day I toured the city, coming back to the dining hall that evening. The man from Iraq walked over to me and informed me that he had set up a meeting for me with the head of the electron microscope unit at Columbia. Given that he had made the arrangement, I attended the interview – but immediately told my host that I was without a work permit, so I was probably wasting her time.
As is common in NYC – a metropolis where everything seems achievable – she said: “We'll handle it. When can you start?” I never got on that flight to London.
I held that position for 36 months. A perk of the job was that I got no-cost classes at Columbia, and I took advantage to complete a graduate degree in global studies.
I never saw that student again and I am unaware of his full name, but his selfless gesture transformed my future in numerous aspects. I didn't possess the courage or self-assurance to reach out at an prestigious college and ask for a job. And, I had consistently hoped to take classes in another country, but lacked the financial means without that educational benefit.
Critically, that job in New York resulted in a position in Switzerland where I met my handsome spouse from France, with whom I currently share four wonderful sons and daughters. This was a pivotal life event. That kind stranger changed my trajectory in life, and I’m forever grateful.
Can you recall the Kindest Gesture a Stranger Has Shown for You?
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