In the late 1980s, I set out on a low-cost journey to the European continent with a travel partner. Since my companion was considering pursuing a master’s degree in the Big Apple, we had planned a 14-day stopover there en route to London.
We got to the graduate housing, a sizeable multi-story edifice on the Upper West Side called International House. After dropping our bags, we headed straight to the dining hall, where we picked up meals, took a seat, and began chatting with people eating there.
Sitting next to me was an Iraqi man studying engineering at an Ivy League institution. He inquired what I did, and I explained that I had recently completed my studies with a scientific background and had been performing experiments with electron microscopy.
He noted that there was an electron microscope unit at the institution – right next door to the engineering department, which was why he was aware of it. He recommended that I should apply for a job with them. I dismissed the idea, telling him that I was about to fly to Europe and, even more importantly, I did not possess a US visa.
The next day I went out exploring, returning to the canteen that night. The man from Iraq approached me and informed me that he had set up a meeting for me with the director of the microscopy lab at Columbia. Because he had gone to the trouble, I went to the meeting – but immediately told my host that I lacked the necessary visa, so I was likely not a suitable candidate.
In typical New York fashion – a place where anything feels possible – she said: “That can be arranged. When can you start?” I missed my plane to London.
I was employed there for 36 months. A perk of the job was that I also received complimentary education at Columbia, and I took advantage to finish a graduate degree in global studies.
We didn't cross paths after that and I can't recall his full name, but his selfless gesture altered my destiny in numerous aspects. I would never have had the confidence or self-assurance to reach out at an Ivy League university and request employment. And, I had long dreamed to study abroad, but lacked the financial means without that tuition waiver.
Critically, that gig at Columbia paved the way for a position in Switzerland where I encountered my handsome spouse from France, with whom I now have a family of four kids. That encounter altered everything. 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 Shown for You?
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