In the closing decade of the 80s, I set out on a budget travel adventure to the European continent with a travel partner. Because my companion was interested in enrolling in graduate studies in NYC, we had booked a fortnight visit there en route to London.
We arrived at the graduate housing, a sizeable 10-storey building on the Upper West Side called International House. Setting down our luggage, we made our way to the canteen, where we got some food, took a seat, and started talking to fellow residents.
Adjacent to my seat was an gentleman from Iraq pursuing an engineering degree at a prestigious New York university. He wanted to know what I did for a living, and I shared that I had newly finished with a degree in science and had been working on studies using an electron microscope.
He noted that there was an microscopy facility at the institution – close to the engineering faculty, which was how he knew about it. He proposed that I should apply for a job with them. I chuckled at the suggestion, telling him that I was soon departing to Europe and, additionally, I didn’t have a US visa.
The next day I ventured out, coming back to the dining hall that after dark. The man from Iraq came up to me and let me know that he had set up a meeting for me with the director of the microscopy lab at Columbia. Since he had gone to the trouble, I went to the meeting – but straight off informed 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 everything seems achievable – she responded: “That can be arranged. What's your start date?” I never got on that flight to London.
I was employed there for a trio of years. One of the benefits was that I was granted free tuition at Columbia, and I took advantage to earn a graduate degree in global studies.
I lost touch with him and I don’t even know his identity, but his remarkable generosity changed my life in multiple respects. I would never have had the confidence or self-belief to contact anyone at an prestigious college and seek a position. Additionally, I had consistently hoped to study abroad, but could never have afforded it without that free tuition.
Critically, that job in New York led me to a role in Europe where I met my beautiful French husband, with whom I currently share four wonderful sons and daughters. That encounter altered everything. That helpful person changed my trajectory in life, and I’m forever grateful.
What is the Nicest Thing a Unknown Person Has Once Performed for You?
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