🔗 Share this article

In the closing decade of the 80s, I set out on a budget travel adventure to Europe with a companion. Since my travel mate was considering starting a postgraduate program in New York, we had planned a two-week stay there before heading to London.

We arrived at the student accommodation, a big multi-story edifice on the Upper West Side named International House. Setting down our luggage, we made our way to the canteen, where we got some food, found a table, and started talking to other diners.

Adjacent to my seat was an Iraqi man enrolled in an engineering program at an Ivy League institution. He wanted to know what I did for a living, and I shared that I had recently completed my studies with a degree in science and had been working on studies using an electron microscope.

He mentioned that there was an electron microscope unit at the institution – close to the engineering faculty, which was how he knew about it. He proposed that I ought to seek a position with them. I chuckled at the suggestion, saying that I was heading off to Europe and, more critically, I didn’t have a US visa.

A day later I went out exploring, coming back to the dining hall that evening. The Iraqi student walked over to me and told me that he had set up a meeting for me with the head of the electron microscope unit at Columbia. Since he had taken the effort, I attended the interview – but right away informed my prospective employer that I didn’t have a visa, so I was unable to accept the role.

In typical New York fashion – a place where anything feels possible – she responded: “We can make that happen. When can you start?” I missed my plane to London.

I worked there for 36 months. A perk of the job was that I also received no-cost classes at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to earn a graduate degree in global studies.

I lost touch with him and I don’t even know his name, but his remarkable generosity altered my destiny in so many ways. I lacked the courage or self-assurance to contact anyone at an elite institution and request employment. And, I had long dreamed to pursue education overseas, but could never have afforded it without that free tuition.

Perhaps most importantly, that job in New York resulted in a role in Europe where I got to know my wonderful partner, with whom I now have four wonderful sons and daughters. This was a pivotal life event. That helpful person changed my trajectory in life, and I’m eternally thankful.

What is the Kindest Gesture a Stranger Has Ever Done for You?

From making your day to changing your life, we want to hear about chance encounters that have left a lasting impression.

Please share your story if you are 18 or over, without revealing your identity if you choose. The stories you tell are secure, and are intended for the aim of this article.