During the late 1980s, I was embarking on a budget travel adventure to Europe with a travel partner. Because my travel mate was considering pursuing a master’s degree in New York, we had booked a two-week stay there on the way to London.
We arrived at the postgrad residence, a sizeable ten-floor structure on the Manhattan's Upper West Side named International House. Setting down our luggage, we went directly to the dining hall, where we got some food, found a table, and began chatting with other diners.
Beside me was an gentleman from Iraq studying engineering at a prestigious New York university. He inquired what I did for a living, and I shared that I had just graduated with a degree in science and had been working on studies involving microscopic analysis.
He pointed out that there was an microscopy facility at the university – adjacent to the school of engineering, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He recommended that I ought to seek a job with them. I laughed it off, saying that I was about to fly 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 walked over to me and told me that he had organized a discussion for me with the director of the microscopy lab at Columbia. Given that he had gone to the trouble, I went to the meeting – but right away informed my interviewer that I didn’t have a visa, so I was probably wasting her time.
Reflecting the city's spirit – a metropolis where everything seems achievable – she said: “We can make that happen. How soon can you begin?” I missed my plane to London.
I held that position for three years. A perk of the job was that I got free tuition at Columbia, and I took advantage to earn a graduate degree in global studies.
I lost touch with him and I am unaware of his name, but his selfless gesture altered my destiny in numerous aspects. I lacked the confidence or nerve to contact anyone at an elite institution and ask for a job. Moreover, I had consistently hoped to pursue education overseas, but could never have afforded it without that educational benefit.
Critically, that role at the university resulted in a job in Zurich where I got to know my beautiful French husband, with whom I now have a family of four kids. This was a pivotal life event. That kind stranger changed my trajectory in life, and I’m eternally thankful.
Can you recall the Kindest Gesture a Stranger Has Once Performed for You?
Whether it's making your day to changing your life, we would love to know unexpected interactions that have left a lasting impression.
Please share your story if you are an adult, without revealing your identity if you prefer. Your responses are protected, and are solely for the aim of this article.
