During the late 1980s, I was embarking on a budget travel adventure to the European continent with a companion. Since my travel mate was interested in starting a postgraduate program in New York, we had booked a two-week stay there on the way to London.
We got to the student accommodation, a large 10-storey building on the Upper West Side named International House. Once we unpacked, we went directly to the canteen, where we picked up meals, sat down, and began chatting with other diners.
Adjacent to my seat was an gentleman from Iraq pursuing an engineering degree at Columbia University. He asked me what I did, and I told him that I had recently completed my studies with a degree in science and had been working on studies involving microscopic analysis.
He mentioned that there was an microscopy facility at Columbia University – close to the school of engineering, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He proposed that I ought to seek a role with them. I chuckled at the suggestion, explaining that I was about to fly to Europe and, even more importantly, I lacked a US visa.
A day later I ventured out, returning to the canteen that night. The man from Iraq came up to me and informed me that he had organized a discussion for me with the head of the electron microscope unit at Columbia. Given that he had taken the effort, I went to the meeting – but immediately informed my host that I was without a work permit, so I was probably wasting her time.
As is common in NYC – a city where anything feels possible – she said: “That can be arranged. What's your start date?” I never got on that flight to London.
I worked there for 36 months. An advantage of the role was that I was granted complimentary education at Columbia, and I seized the chance to earn a master’s of international affairs.
I lost touch with him and I don’t even know his identity, but his remarkable generosity changed my life in numerous aspects. I would never have had the bravery or nerve to approach someone at an prestigious college and ask for a job. Additionally, I had long dreamed to study abroad, but could never have afforded it without that tuition waiver.
What's more, that role at the university led me to a position in Switzerland where I encountered my wonderful partner, with whom I am raising four amazing children. That encounter altered everything. That benevolent individual changed my trajectory in life, and I’m eternally thankful.
Can you recall the Most Generous Act a Someone You Didn't Know Has Once Performed for You?
Whether it's brightening your mood to altering your path, we are interested in chance encounters that have stuck with you.
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