During the final years of the 1980s, I was beginning a low-cost journey to Europe with a friend. Because my companion was interested in enrolling in graduate studies in the Big Apple, we had planned a two-week stay there en route to London.
We got to the postgrad residence, a big 10-storey building on the Manhattan's Upper West Side named International House. Once we unpacked, we went directly to the canteen, where we got some food, sat down, and engaged in conversation with people eating there.
Beside me was an Iraqi man enrolled in an engineering program at Columbia University. He inquired what I did for a living, and I told him that I had newly finished with a science degree and had been performing experiments using an electron microscope.
He noted that there was an electron microscope unit at the institution – right next door to the engineering faculty, which was how he knew about it. He suggested that I ought to seek a role with them. I chuckled at the suggestion, telling him that I was about to fly to Europe and, more critically, I lacked a US visa.
The following day I toured the city, coming back to the dining hall that after dark. The engineering student came up to me and told me that he had set up a meeting for me with the head of the electron microscope unit at Columbia. Given that he had made the arrangement, I went to the meeting – but immediately informed my prospective employer that I lacked the necessary visa, so I was likely not a suitable candidate.
In typical New York fashion – a place where opportunities abound – she responded: “We can make that happen. How soon can you begin?” I missed my plane to London.
I was employed there for 36 months. One of the benefits was that I also received no-cost classes at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to finish a postgrad program in international relations.
I lost touch with him and I don’t even know his identity, but his incredible act of kindness changed my life in numerous aspects. I lacked the courage or self-belief to contact anyone at an Ivy League university and seek a position. And, I had always wanted to study abroad, but lacked the financial means without that educational benefit.
Perhaps most importantly, that job in New York resulted in a role in Europe where I encountered my handsome spouse from France, with whom I currently share a family of four kids. This was a pivotal life event. That benevolent individual set me on a different course in life, and I’m always appreciative.
Can you recall the Nicest Thing a Someone You Didn't Know Has Shown for You?
From cheering you up to transforming your future, we would love to know unexpected interactions that have remained in your memory.
We invite you to tell us if you are 18 or over, anonymously if you wish. What you share are protected, and will only be used the purpose of this feature.
