In the closing decade of the 80s, I set out on a low-cost journey to the European continent with a travel partner. Since my companion was interested in starting a postgraduate program in New York, we had booked a fortnight visit there en route to London.
We arrived at the graduate housing, a sizeable 10-storey building on the UWS known as International House. Once we unpacked, we made our way to the cafeteria, where we grabbed food, found a table, and started talking to other diners.
Beside me was an Iraqi man pursuing an engineering degree at Columbia University. He asked me what I did, and I explained that I had just graduated with a scientific background and had been working on studies with electron microscopy.
He pointed out that there was an electron microscope unit at the university – adjacent to the engineering faculty, which was how he knew about it. He recommended that I should apply for a job with them. I laughed it off, telling him that I was heading off to Europe and, additionally, I did not possess a US visa.
The next day I toured the city, returning to the canteen that night. The engineering student came up to me and informed me that he had set up a meeting for me with the leader of the research team at Columbia. Because he had taken the effort, I showed up for the discussion – but straight off told my interviewer that I didn’t have a visa, so I was probably wasting her time.
Reflecting the city's spirit – a city where anything feels possible – she declared: “We can make that happen. How soon can you begin?” I missed my plane to London.
I worked 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 master’s of international affairs.
I never saw that student again and I can't recall his name, but his selfless gesture changed my life in numerous aspects. I didn't possess the confidence or self-assurance to reach out at an Ivy League university and request employment. Additionally, I had long dreamed to take classes in another country, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that tuition waiver.
What's more, that role at the university resulted in a job in Zurich where I encountered my beautiful French husband, with whom I currently share four amazing children. That encounter altered everything. That helpful person redirected my path in life, and I’m eternally thankful.
Can you recall the Nicest Thing a Stranger Has Once Performed for You?
Whether it's cheering you up to altering your path, we are interested in unexpected interactions that have left a lasting impression.
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