🔗 Share this article

In the late 1980s, I set out on a backpacking trip to the European continent with a companion. Because my travel mate was exploring starting a postgraduate program in NYC, we had planned a 14-day stopover there en route to London.

We got to the student accommodation, a large 10-storey building on the Manhattan's Upper West Side named International House. After dropping our bags, we headed straight to the canteen, where we grabbed food, found a table, and began chatting with people eating there.

Sitting next to me was an individual of Iraqi origin studying engineering at a prestigious New York university. He wanted to know what I my profession was, and I shared that I had newly finished with a science degree and had been working on studies with electron microscopy.

He pointed out that there was an microscopy facility at Columbia University – right next door to the engineering faculty, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He suggested that I ought to seek a job with them. I chuckled at the suggestion, explaining that I was soon departing to Europe and, more critically, I didn’t have a US visa.

The next day I ventured out, returning to the canteen that after dark. The man from Iraq came up to me and informed me that he had set up a meeting for me with the head of the electron microscope unit at Columbia. Given that he had taken the effort, I went to the meeting – but immediately informed my prospective employer that I lacked the necessary visa, so I was likely not a suitable candidate.

In typical New York fashion – a place where everything seems achievable – she declared: “We'll handle it. What's your start date?” I didn't board the aircraft to London.

I worked there for 36 months. An advantage of the role was that I was granted complimentary education at Columbia, and I seized the chance to complete a graduate degree in global studies.

I never saw that student again and I don’t even know his name, but his remarkable generosity altered my destiny in so many ways. I would never have had the confidence or self-assurance to reach out at an Ivy League university and ask for a job. Additionally, I had always wanted to study abroad, but lacked the financial means without that free tuition.

What's more, that role at the university led me to a position in Switzerland where I encountered my handsome spouse from France, with whom I am raising four wonderful sons and daughters. It was a total sliding doors moment. That benevolent individual redirected my path in life, and I’m eternally thankful.

Can you recall the Most Generous Act a Stranger Has Shown for You?

From cheering you up to transforming your future, we are interested in unexpected interactions that have stuck with you.

Please share your story if you are an adult, without revealing your identity if you prefer. The stories you tell are protected, and are intended for the purpose of this feature.