In the final years of the 1980s, I set out on a backpacking trip to the European continent with a travel partner. Because my travel mate was considering starting a postgraduate program in the Big Apple, we had arranged a fortnight visit there en route to London.
We reached the graduate housing, a large 10-storey building on the Upper West Side known as International House. After dropping our bags, we headed straight to the dining hall, where we grabbed food, found a table, and began chatting with people eating there.
Sitting next to me was an Iraqi man pursuing an engineering degree at an Ivy League institution. He inquired what I did for a living, and I shared that I had newly finished with a scientific background and had been performing experiments using an electron microscope.
He mentioned that there was an research lab at the institution – right next door to the school of engineering, which was how he knew about it. He suggested that I consider applying for a role with them. I dismissed the idea, explaining that I was heading off to Europe and, more critically, I didn’t have a US visa.
The next day I toured the city, coming back to the dining hall that night. The engineering student came up to me and informed me that he had set up a meeting for me with the head of the electron microscope unit at Columbia. Since he had made the arrangement, I showed up for the discussion – but straight off told my interviewer that I lacked the necessary visa, so I was unable to accept the role.
In typical New York fashion – a metropolis where anything feels possible – she said: “We can make that happen. What's your start date?” I never got on that flight to London.
I held that position for three years. An advantage of the role was that I also received free tuition at Columbia, and I took advantage to complete a master’s of international affairs.
I never saw that student again and I can't recall his name, but his selfless gesture altered my destiny in numerous aspects. I would never have had the courage or self-belief to contact anyone at an elite institution and seek a position. Additionally, I had consistently hoped to take classes in another country, but lacked the financial means without that free tuition.
What's more, that job in New York resulted in a role in Europe where I got to know my beautiful French husband, with whom I currently share a family of four kids. That encounter altered everything. That kind stranger redirected my path 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 are interested in random meetings that have left a lasting impression.
Feel free to recount your experience if you are 18 or over, keeping your details private if you wish. What you share are secure, and are intended for the purpose of this feature.
