In the final years of the 1980s, I was beginning a backpacking trip to Europe with a friend. Since my companion was considering starting a postgraduate program in the Big Apple, we had booked a two-week stay there en route to London.
We arrived at the graduate housing, a large 10-storey building on the UWS known as International House. Once we unpacked, we made our way to the cafeteria, where we grabbed food, took a seat, and engaged in conversation with fellow residents.
Beside me was an Iraqi man enrolled in an engineering program at a prestigious New York university. He asked me what I did for a living, and I told him that I had just graduated with a scientific background and had been performing experiments involving microscopic analysis.
He pointed out that there was an electron microscope unit at Columbia University – close to the engineering department, which was how he knew about it. He recommended that I ought to seek a position with them. I chuckled at the suggestion, explaining that I was heading off to Europe and, more critically, I did not possess a US visa.
A day later I ventured out, going back to the cafeteria that night. The man from Iraq came up to me and let me know that he had arranged an interview for me with the leader of the research team at Columbia. Since he had made the arrangement, I showed up for the discussion – but right away informed my interviewer that I was without a work permit, so I was unable to accept the role.
In typical New York fashion – a city where everything seems achievable – she declared: “We can make that happen. What's your start date?” I missed my plane to London.
I worked there for three years. One of the benefits was that I got no-cost classes at Columbia, and I seized the chance to complete a postgrad program in international relations.
I never saw that student again and I don’t even know his identity, but his selfless gesture changed my life in so many ways. I lacked the confidence or self-belief to reach out at an elite institution 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 role at the university paved the way for a position in Switzerland where I encountered my beautiful French husband, with whom I am raising a family of four kids. That encounter altered everything. That benevolent individual set me on a different course in life, and I’m eternally thankful.
Can you recall the Kindest Gesture a Stranger Has Once Performed for You?
From brightening your mood to transforming your future, we would love to know unexpected interactions that have left a lasting impression.
Feel free to recount your experience if you are an adult, keeping your details private if you prefer. The stories you tell are secure, and will only be used the aim of this article.
