In the closing decade of the 80s, I was beginning a backpacking trip to the European continent with a companion. Since my friend was considering pursuing a master’s degree in New York, we had booked a two-week stay there en route to London.
We reached the student accommodation, a big 10-storey building on the UWS known as International House. Setting down our luggage, we headed straight to the canteen, where we picked up meals, found a table, and started talking to other diners.
Adjacent to my seat was an gentleman from Iraq studying engineering at an Ivy League institution. He asked me what I did for a living, and I shared that I had newly finished with a science degree and had been performing experiments using an electron microscope.
He noted that there was an research lab at the university – close to the engineering faculty, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He proposed that I should apply for a role with them. I chuckled at the suggestion, telling him that I was about to fly to Europe and, even more importantly, I didn’t have a US visa.
The next day I toured the city, going back to the cafeteria that after dark. The engineering student approached me and told me that he had arranged an interview for me with the head of the electron microscope unit at Columbia. Since he had made the arrangement, I went to the meeting – but right away informed my interviewer that I lacked the necessary visa, so I was probably wasting her time.
In typical New York fashion – a city where anything feels possible – she declared: “That can be arranged. When can you start?” I never got on that flight to London.
I worked there for 36 months. A perk of the job was that I also received complimentary education at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to complete a master’s of international affairs.
We didn't cross paths after that and I am unaware of his full name, but his selfless gesture altered my destiny in multiple respects. I lacked the courage or nerve to contact anyone at an prestigious college and seek a position. And, I had consistently hoped to study abroad, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that free tuition.
Critically, that job in New York led me to a job in Zurich 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 kind stranger changed my trajectory in life, and I’m eternally thankful.
Can you recall the Nicest Thing a Unknown Person Has Shown for You?
Whether it's making your day to transforming your future, we would love to know unexpected interactions that have stuck with you.
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