During the late 1980s, I set out on a low-cost journey to the European continent with a friend. Since my travel mate was interested in starting a postgraduate program in the Big Apple, we had booked a 14-day stopover there en route to London.
We reached the graduate housing, a sizeable multi-story edifice on the Manhattan's Upper West Side named International House. Once we unpacked, we made our way to the cafeteria, where we got some food, took a seat, and began chatting with people eating there.
Beside me was an gentleman from Iraq studying engineering at a prestigious New York university. He asked me what I did for a living, and I told him that I had newly finished with a science degree and had been working on studies using an electron microscope.
He noted that there was an microscopy facility at the institution – adjacent to the engineering department, which was how he knew about it. He suggested that I consider applying for a job with them. I laughed it off, telling him that I was about to fly to Europe and, more critically, I lacked a US visa.
The next day I toured the city, coming back to the dining hall that after dark. The engineering student walked over to me and told me that he had set up a meeting for me with the leader of the research team at Columbia. Since he had taken the effort, I went to the meeting – but right away explained to my interviewer that I was without a work permit, so I was likely not a suitable candidate.
As is common in NYC – a place where everything seems achievable – she said: “That can be arranged. How soon can you begin?” I never got on that flight to London.
I worked there for a trio of years. An advantage of the role was that I was granted no-cost classes at Columbia, and I took advantage to complete a postgrad program in international relations.
I never saw that student again and I am unaware of his identity, but his incredible act of kindness changed my life in so many ways. I lacked the confidence or self-assurance to approach someone at an Ivy League university and seek a position. And, I had long dreamed to study abroad, but could never have afforded it without that educational benefit.
Perhaps most importantly, that job in New York resulted in a position in Switzerland where I encountered my beautiful French husband, with whom I am raising four wonderful sons and daughters. This was a pivotal life event. That benevolent individual set me on a different course in life, and I’m forever grateful.
Can you recall the Most Generous Act a Unknown Person Has Shown for You?
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