During the late 1980s, I was embarking on a low-cost journey to Europe with a companion. Because my travel mate was considering enrolling in graduate studies in New York, we had arranged a two-week stay there on the way to London.
We reached the student accommodation, a sizeable multi-story edifice on the Upper West Side named International House. Once we unpacked, we made our way to the canteen, where we grabbed food, took a seat, and began chatting with other diners.
Beside me was an gentleman from Iraq studying engineering at Columbia University. He inquired what I my profession was, and I shared that I had just graduated with a degree in science and had been performing experiments involving microscopic analysis.
He pointed out that there was an research lab at the institution – right next door to the school of engineering, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He suggested that I consider applying for a job with them. I laughed it off, saying that I was heading off to Europe and, more critically, I didn’t have a US visa.
A day later I ventured out, coming back to the dining hall that evening. The man from Iraq came up to me and let me know that he had arranged an interview for me with the leader of the research team at Columbia. Since he had made the arrangement, I went to the meeting – but straight off told my host that I didn’t have a visa, so I was unable to accept the role.
In typical New York fashion – a city where opportunities abound – she declared: “That can be arranged. How soon can you begin?” I never got on that flight to London.
I held that position for three years. A perk of the job was that I was granted free tuition at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to finish a graduate degree in global studies.
I never saw that student again and I am unaware of his identity, but his selfless gesture changed my life in multiple respects. I would never have had the courage or self-assurance to reach out at an prestigious college and ask for a job. Additionally, I had long dreamed to take classes in another country, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that tuition waiver.
What's more, that role at the university led me to a role in Europe where I encountered my wonderful partner, with whom I currently share four wonderful sons and daughters. That encounter altered everything. That kind stranger redirected my path in life, and I’m forever grateful.
Can you recall the Most Generous Act a Unknown Person Has Ever Done for You?
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