In the closing decade of the 80s, I was beginning a backpacking trip to Europe with a companion. Since my travel mate was interested in pursuing a master’s degree in the Big Apple, we had planned a 14-day stopover there before heading to London.
We got to the student accommodation, a big 10-storey building on the Manhattan's Upper West Side known as International House. Once we unpacked, we made our way to the dining hall, where we grabbed food, sat down, and started talking to people eating there.
Sitting next to me was an gentleman from Iraq studying engineering at a prestigious New York university. He wanted to know what I my profession was, and I shared that I had newly finished with a science degree and had been performing experiments involving microscopic analysis.
He mentioned that there was an research lab at the university – right next door to the engineering faculty, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He proposed that I consider applying for a job with them. I dismissed the idea, telling him that I was about to fly to Europe and, even more importantly, I lacked a US visa.
A day later I toured the city, coming back to the dining hall that evening. The man from Iraq came up to me and informed me that he had arranged an interview for me with the leader of the research team at Columbia. Since he had gone to the trouble, I went to the meeting – but immediately told my host that I was without a work permit, so I was probably wasting her time.
In typical New York fashion – a metropolis where anything feels possible – she said: “That can be arranged. How soon can you begin?” I didn't board the aircraft to London.
I worked there for three years. One of the benefits was that I got free tuition at Columbia, and I seized the chance to finish a graduate degree in global studies.
I lost touch with him and I am unaware of his identity, but his selfless gesture changed my life in multiple respects. I would never have had the confidence or self-assurance to contact anyone at an prestigious college and ask for a job. Additionally, I had consistently hoped to take classes in another country, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that tuition waiver.
Critically, that gig at Columbia paved the way for a role in Europe where I met my wonderful partner, with whom I currently share a family of four kids. This was a pivotal life event. That helpful person redirected my path in life, and I’m forever grateful.
Can you recall the Nicest Thing a Stranger Has Shown for You?
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