In the late 1980s, I set out on a budget travel adventure to the European continent with a companion. Since my friend was considering enrolling in graduate studies in the Big Apple, we had arranged a two-week stay there on the way to London.
We got to the graduate housing, 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 started talking to people eating there.
Beside me was an gentleman from Iraq studying engineering at a prestigious New York university. He wanted to know what I did for a living, and I told him that I had newly finished with a science degree and had been performing experiments involving microscopic analysis.
He noted that there was an research lab at Columbia University – right next door to the engineering department, which was how he knew about it. He recommended that I should apply for a job with them. I laughed it off, saying that I was about to fly to Europe and, additionally, I did not possess a US visa.
The following day I toured the city, returning to the canteen that evening. The man from Iraq came up to me and informed me that he had arranged an interview for me with the director of the microscopy lab at Columbia. Given that he had taken the effort, I went to the meeting – but straight off told my host that I didn’t have a visa, so I was unable to accept the role.
Reflecting the city's spirit – a city where anything feels possible – she declared: “That can be arranged. How soon can you begin?” I missed my plane to London.
I held that position for three years. A perk of the job was that I got no-cost classes at Columbia, and I took advantage to earn a graduate degree in global studies.
I never saw that student again and I am unaware of his full name, but his remarkable generosity altered my destiny in so many ways. I didn't possess the confidence or self-assurance to approach someone at an Ivy League university and seek a position. Additionally, I had long dreamed to take classes in another country, but lacked the financial means without that educational benefit.
Perhaps most importantly, that job in New York resulted in a position in Switzerland where I got to know my wonderful partner, with whom I now have four wonderful sons and daughters. It was a total sliding doors moment. That helpful person changed my trajectory in life, and I’m eternally thankful.
What is the Most Generous Act a Someone You Didn't Know Has Shown for You?
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