In the late 1980s, I set out on a budget travel adventure to the European continent with a travel partner. Because my friend was exploring enrolling in graduate studies in the Big Apple, we had arranged a two-week stay there on the way to London.
We got to the student accommodation, a big 10-storey building on the UWS named International House. Once we unpacked, we went directly to the canteen, where we grabbed food, found a table, and started talking to people eating there.
Adjacent to my seat was an gentleman from Iraq pursuing an engineering degree at Columbia University. He inquired what I did for a living, and I told him that I had just graduated with a science degree and had been performing experiments involving microscopic analysis.
He mentioned that there was an research lab at the institution – right next door to the engineering department, which was how he knew about it. He suggested that I consider applying for a role with them. I chuckled at the suggestion, saying that I was soon departing to Europe and, additionally, I lacked a US visa.
The following day I went out exploring, returning to the canteen that after dark. The Iraqi student came up to me and told me that he had arranged an interview for me with the head of the electron microscope unit at Columbia. Because he had made the arrangement, I went to the meeting – but right away told my interviewer that I was without a work permit, so I was probably wasting her time.
In typical New York fashion – a metropolis where anything feels possible – she responded: “We can make that happen. What's your start date?” I missed my plane to London.
I held that position for 36 months. One of the benefits was that I was granted free tuition at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to complete a graduate degree in global studies.
I lost touch with him and I can't recall his full name, but his remarkable generosity transformed my future in so many ways. I would never have had the confidence or self-belief to approach someone at an prestigious college and ask for a job. And, I had long dreamed to take classes in another country, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that tuition waiver.
Critically, that job in New York led me to a position in Switzerland where I encountered my handsome spouse from France, with whom I now have a family of four kids. It was a total sliding doors moment. That helpful person changed my trajectory in life, and I’m always appreciative.
Can you recall the Kindest Gesture a Someone You Didn't Know Has Ever Done for You?
Whether it's cheering you up to altering your path, we are interested in random meetings that have stuck with you.
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