During the closing decade of the 80s, I was embarking on a budget travel adventure to Europe with a companion. Since my companion was exploring starting a postgraduate program in New York, we had arranged a two-week stay there before heading to London.
We got to the student accommodation, a large multi-story edifice on the Upper West Side called International House. Once we unpacked, we headed straight to the canteen, where we grabbed food, took a seat, and started talking to people eating there.
Adjacent to my seat was an gentleman from Iraq studying engineering at a prestigious New York university. He asked me what I my profession was, and I told him that I had just graduated with a science degree and had been working on studies involving microscopic analysis.
He noted that there was an microscopy facility at Columbia University – close to the engineering faculty, which was why he was aware of it. He recommended that I ought to seek a job with them. I laughed it off, explaining that I was soon departing to Europe and, more critically, I lacked a US visa.
A day later I ventured out, going back to the cafeteria that night. The engineering student walked over to me and let me know that he had set up a meeting for me with the leader of the research team at Columbia. Since he had made the arrangement, I attended the interview – but right away explained to my interviewer that I was without a work permit, so I was probably wasting her time.
In typical New York fashion – a city where anything feels possible – she said: “That can be arranged. How soon can you begin?” I never got on that flight to London.
I was employed there for a trio of years. One of the benefits was that I also received free tuition at Columbia, and I seized the chance to earn a graduate degree in global studies.
I lost touch with him and I can't recall his identity, but his remarkable generosity altered my destiny in so many ways. I lacked the confidence or self-belief to approach someone at an elite institution and seek a position. And, I had consistently hoped to study abroad, but lacked the financial means without that educational benefit.
What's more, that job in New York led me to a job in Zurich where I met my handsome spouse from France, with whom I am raising four wonderful sons and daughters. It was a total sliding doors moment. That helpful person changed my trajectory in life, and I’m forever grateful.
Can you recall the Kindest Gesture a Stranger Has Once Performed for You?
From cheering you up to changing your life, we want to hear about chance encounters that have stuck with you.
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