In the final years of the 1980s, I set out on a budget travel adventure to the European continent with a friend. Because my friend was considering pursuing a master’s degree in the Big Apple, we had arranged a fortnight visit there before heading to London.
We arrived at the student accommodation, a big multi-story edifice on the UWS called International House. Once we unpacked, we went directly to the cafeteria, where we got some food, found a table, and engaged in conversation with other diners.
Adjacent to my seat was an gentleman from Iraq studying engineering at an Ivy League institution. He asked me what I did for a living, and I explained that I had newly finished with a degree in science and had been performing experiments with electron microscopy.
He mentioned that there was an microscopy facility at the university – adjacent to the school of engineering, which was how he knew about it. He recommended that I should apply for a role with them. I laughed it off, saying that I was soon departing to Europe and, even more importantly, I lacked a US visa.
A day later I ventured out, going back to the cafeteria that evening. The engineering student approached me and let me know that he had organized a discussion for me with the head of the electron microscope unit at Columbia. Since he had taken the effort, I went to the meeting – but straight off informed my interviewer that I didn’t have a visa, so I was unable to accept the role.
In typical New York fashion – a metropolis where anything feels possible – she declared: “We'll handle it. What's your start date?” I didn't board the aircraft to London.
I was employed there for a trio of years. A perk of the job was that I was granted free tuition at Columbia, and I seized the chance to earn a graduate degree in global studies.
We didn't cross paths after that and I am unaware of his full name, but his remarkable generosity changed my life in multiple respects. I would never have had the bravery or self-assurance to reach out at an Ivy League university and seek a position. And, I had always wanted to take classes in another country, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that tuition waiver.
Perhaps most importantly, that gig at Columbia led me to a position in Switzerland where I met my wonderful partner, with whom I am raising a family of four kids. It was a total sliding doors moment. That kind stranger set me on a different course in life, and I’m always appreciative.
Can you recall the Most Generous Act a Someone You Didn't Know Has Ever Done for You?
Whether it's making your day to changing your life, we want to hear about chance encounters that have left a lasting impression.
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