During the closing decade of the 80s, I set out on a low-cost journey to Europe with a companion. Because my friend was interested in pursuing a master’s degree in NYC, we had planned a two-week stay there on the way to London.
We got to the graduate housing, a big multi-story edifice on the Upper West Side known as International House. After dropping our bags, we went directly to the dining hall, where we got some food, took a seat, and started talking to fellow residents.
Adjacent to my seat was an Iraqi man enrolled in an engineering program at a prestigious New York university. He wanted to know what I did, and I explained 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 the institution – close to the school of engineering, which was how he knew about it. He proposed that I ought to seek a role with them. I dismissed the idea, telling him that I was soon departing to Europe and, more critically, I lacked a US visa.
The following day I ventured out, going back to the cafeteria that after dark. The Iraqi student walked over to me and told me that he had set up a meeting 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 straight off informed my prospective employer that I was without a work permit, so I was unable to accept the role.
Reflecting the city's spirit – a city where everything seems achievable – she declared: “We can make that happen. What's your start date?” I never got on that flight to London.
I held that position for three years. An advantage of the role was that I also received free tuition at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to complete a postgrad program in international relations.
I never saw that student again and I don’t even know his full name, but his remarkable generosity altered my destiny in so many ways. I didn't possess the confidence or self-belief to approach someone at an Ivy League university and seek a position. Additionally, I had long dreamed to study abroad, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that free tuition.
Critically, that gig at Columbia led me to a job in Zurich where I encountered my beautiful French husband, with whom I currently share four amazing children. It was a total sliding doors moment. That benevolent individual changed my trajectory in life, and I’m forever grateful.
Can you recall the Nicest Thing a Unknown Person Has Once Performed for You?
From cheering you up to transforming your future, we would love to know chance encounters that have remained in your memory.
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