During the final years of the 1980s, I was embarking on a budget travel adventure to the European continent with a friend. Since my companion was exploring starting a postgraduate program in NYC, we had booked a 14-day stopover there before heading to London.
We got to the graduate housing, a sizeable 10-storey building on the Manhattan's Upper West Side named International House. Once we unpacked, we went directly to the cafeteria, where we picked up meals, took a seat, and began chatting with fellow residents.
Sitting next to me was an Iraqi man enrolled in an engineering program at an Ivy League institution. He inquired what I did, and I told him that I had recently completed my studies with a degree in science and had been working on studies using an electron microscope.
He noted that there was an electron microscope unit at the university – right next door to the engineering department, which was why he was aware of it. He suggested that I should apply for a role 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.
The next day I went out exploring, coming back to the dining hall that evening. The man from Iraq came up to me and told me that he had set up a meeting for me with the director of the microscopy lab at Columbia. Given that he had taken the effort, I showed up for the discussion – but straight off told my prospective employer that I was without a work permit, so I was probably wasting her time.
Reflecting the city's spirit – a place where opportunities abound – she said: “We can make that happen. How soon can you begin?” I missed my plane to London.
I worked there for three years. One of the benefits was that I was granted free tuition at Columbia, and I took advantage to complete a graduate degree in global studies.
I lost touch with him and I am unaware of his identity, but his remarkable generosity changed my life in multiple respects. I didn't possess the courage or self-assurance to contact anyone at an Ivy League university and request employment. Moreover, I had always wanted to pursue education overseas, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that tuition waiver.
What's more, that role at the university resulted in a job in Zurich where I got to know my wonderful partner, with whom I am raising a family of four kids. It was a total sliding doors moment. That benevolent individual changed my trajectory in life, and I’m eternally thankful.
What is the Most Generous Act a Unknown Person Has Once Performed for You?
Whether it's cheering you up to altering your path, we are interested in unexpected interactions that have left a lasting impression.
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