During the final years of the 1980s, I was embarking on a budget travel adventure to the European continent with a travel partner. Because my friend was exploring pursuing a master’s degree in NYC, we had planned a 14-day stopover there before heading to London.
We arrived at the graduate housing, a large ten-floor structure on the Manhattan's Upper West Side known as International House. After dropping our bags, we went directly to the cafeteria, where we picked up meals, sat down, and began chatting with people eating there.
Beside me was an individual of Iraqi origin enrolled in an engineering program at a prestigious New York university. He inquired what I did, and I told him that I had recently completed my studies with a degree in science and had been performing experiments using an electron microscope.
He noted that there was an microscopy facility at the institution – adjacent to the engineering faculty, which was how he knew about it. He recommended that I should apply for a role with them. I dismissed the idea, explaining that I was about to fly to Europe and, even more importantly, I lacked a US visa.
A day later I toured the city, going back to the cafeteria that night. The Iraqi student approached me and let me know that he had organized a discussion for me with the director of the microscopy lab at Columbia. Given that he had made the arrangement, I showed up for the discussion – but right away explained to my host that I was without a work permit, so I was unable to accept the role.
Reflecting the city's spirit – a city where anything feels possible – she declared: “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 complimentary education at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to finish a graduate degree in global studies.
We didn't cross paths after that and I am unaware of his full name, but his remarkable generosity changed my life in so many ways. I would never have had the confidence or nerve to contact anyone at an Ivy League university and request employment. And, I had always wanted to take classes in another country, but could never have afforded it without that free tuition.
Perhaps most importantly, that gig at Columbia paved the way for a position in Switzerland where I encountered my beautiful French husband, with whom I currently share a family of four kids. It was a total sliding doors moment. That kind stranger redirected my path in life, and I’m forever grateful.
Can you recall the Nicest Thing a Unknown Person Has Shown for You?
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