During the late 1980s, I set out on a budget travel adventure to the European continent with a companion. Since my travel mate was considering pursuing a master’s degree in New York, we had booked a 14-day stopover there on the way to London.
We reached the postgrad residence, a large multi-story edifice on the Upper West Side named International House. After dropping our bags, we made our way to the cafeteria, where we picked up meals, sat down, and started talking to other diners.
Sitting next to me was an Iraqi man pursuing an engineering degree at Columbia University. He asked me what I did, and I told him that I had just graduated with a science degree and had been working on studies involving microscopic analysis.
He noted that there was an research lab at Columbia University – right next door to the school of engineering, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He recommended that I ought to seek a job with them. I chuckled at the suggestion, explaining that I was about to fly to Europe and, more critically, I lacked a US visa.
The next day I went out exploring, coming back to the dining hall that night. 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. Given that he had gone to the trouble, I went to the meeting – but right away told my interviewer that I didn’t have a visa, so I was likely not a suitable candidate.
Reflecting the city's spirit – a city where everything seems achievable – she declared: “That can be arranged. How soon can you begin?” I missed my plane to London.
I was employed there for a trio of years. An advantage of the role was that I also received free tuition at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to finish a postgrad program in international relations.
I never saw that student again and I can't recall his identity, but his remarkable generosity transformed my future in multiple respects. I didn't possess the bravery or self-belief to contact anyone at an prestigious college and seek a position. And, I had long dreamed to take classes in another country, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that tuition waiver.
Critically, that job in New York paved the way for a job in Zurich where I got to know my beautiful French husband, with whom I now have a family of four kids. It was a total sliding doors moment. That benevolent individual set me on a different course in life, and I’m eternally thankful.
Can you recall the Most Generous Act a Someone You Didn't Know Has Once Performed for You?
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