🔗 Share this article

In the closing decade of the 80s, I was embarking on a low-cost journey to the European continent with a companion. Since my travel mate was considering enrolling in graduate studies in the Big Apple, we had planned a 14-day stopover there en route to London.

We arrived at the student accommodation, a big 10-storey building on the UWS known as International House. Setting down our luggage, we went directly to the canteen, where we grabbed food, found a table, and engaged in conversation with other diners.

Beside me was an gentleman from Iraq studying engineering at an Ivy League institution. He wanted to know what I did for a living, and I told him that I had just graduated with a degree in science and had been performing experiments using an electron microscope.

He noted that there was an microscopy facility at Columbia University – right next door to the engineering department, which was how he knew about it. He recommended that I ought to seek a position with them. I dismissed the idea, explaining that I was soon departing to Europe and, additionally, 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 told me that he had arranged an interview for me with the director of the microscopy lab at Columbia. Since he had made the arrangement, I showed up for the discussion – but right away informed my host that I didn’t have a visa, so I was probably wasting her time.

In typical New York fashion – a city where anything feels possible – she declared: “We can make that happen. How soon can you begin?” I never got on that flight to London.

I worked there for a trio of years. One of the benefits was that I also received complimentary education at Columbia, and I took advantage to complete a master’s of international affairs.

I lost touch with him and I am unaware of his full name, but his selfless gesture changed my life in numerous aspects. I didn't possess the bravery or self-assurance to contact anyone at an Ivy League university and ask for a job. Additionally, I had consistently hoped to study abroad, but could never have afforded it without that tuition waiver.

What's more, that gig at Columbia paved the way for a role in Europe where I encountered my handsome spouse from France, with whom I now have four amazing children. This was a pivotal life event. That benevolent individual set me on a different course in life, and I’m eternally thankful.

Tell us about the Most Generous Act a Stranger Has Ever Done for You?

Whether it's cheering you up to altering your path, we would love to know random meetings that have stuck with you.

Feel free to recount your experience if you are of legal age, keeping your details private if you wish. What you share are protected, and are intended for the purpose of this feature.