During the late 1980s, I was beginning a backpacking trip to the European continent with a travel partner. Since my friend was considering enrolling in graduate studies in the Big Apple, we had arranged a fortnight visit there en route to London.
We arrived at the student accommodation, a big 10-storey building on the UWS named International House. Setting down our luggage, we made our way to the canteen, where we picked up meals, took a seat, and began chatting with people eating there.
Sitting next to me was an gentleman from Iraq pursuing an engineering degree at Columbia University. He asked me what I did, and I shared that I had just graduated with a scientific background and had been performing experiments with electron microscopy.
He mentioned that there was an microscopy facility at Columbia University – right next door to the engineering department, which was how he knew about it. He recommended that I consider applying for a position with them. I laughed it off, explaining that I was soon departing to Europe and, even more importantly, I lacked a US visa.
The following day I went out exploring, returning to the canteen that evening. The Iraqi student approached me and let me know that he had organized a discussion for me with the head of the electron microscope unit at Columbia. Since he had taken the effort, I attended the interview – but right away informed my host that I was without a work permit, so I was probably wasting her time.
Reflecting the city's spirit – a metropolis where opportunities abound – she declared: “That can be arranged. How soon can you begin?” I missed my plane to London.
I was employed there for three years. A perk of the job was that I also received no-cost classes at Columbia, and I took advantage to earn a postgrad program in international relations.
We didn't cross paths after that and I can't recall his identity, but his selfless gesture altered my destiny in so many ways. I didn't possess the courage or self-assurance to reach out at an Ivy League university and ask for a job. Additionally, I had consistently hoped to pursue education overseas, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that free tuition.
Perhaps most importantly, that gig at Columbia paved the way for a position in Switzerland where I encountered my wonderful partner, with whom I am raising a family of four kids. It was a total sliding doors moment. That kind stranger set me on a different course in life, and I’m forever grateful.
Can you recall the Nicest Thing a Stranger Has Once Performed for You?
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