In the closing decade of the 80s, I was beginning a backpacking trip to Europe with a companion. Since my travel mate was interested in starting a postgraduate program in the Big Apple, we had planned a fortnight visit there before heading to London.
We reached the postgrad residence, a large ten-floor structure on the Manhattan's Upper West Side known as International House. Once we unpacked, we went directly to the cafeteria, where we grabbed food, found a table, and began chatting with other diners.
Sitting next to me was an individual of Iraqi origin enrolled in an engineering program 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 scientific background and had been working on studies involving microscopic analysis.
He pointed out that there was an electron microscope unit at the institution – close to the engineering faculty, which was how he knew about it. He proposed that I consider applying for a job with them. I chuckled at the suggestion, saying that I was about to fly to Europe and, more critically, I didn’t have a US visa.
A day later I toured the city, going back to the cafeteria that after dark. The Iraqi student approached me and let me know that he had set up a meeting for me with the director of the microscopy lab at Columbia. Given that he had taken the effort, I showed up for the discussion – but straight off informed my prospective employer that I was without a work permit, so I was unable to accept the role.
In typical New York fashion – a metropolis where anything feels possible – she responded: “That can be arranged. How soon can you begin?” I missed my plane to London.
I worked there for 36 months. A perk of the job was that I was granted complimentary education at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to earn a postgrad program in international relations.
I lost touch with him and I am unaware of his identity, but his incredible act of kindness altered my destiny in multiple respects. I would never have had the confidence or nerve to contact anyone at an Ivy League university and ask for a job. Moreover, I had long dreamed to take classes in another country, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that educational benefit.
Critically, that gig at Columbia led me to a job in Zurich where I met my handsome spouse from France, with whom I am raising a family of four kids. It was a total sliding doors moment. That kind stranger redirected my path in life, and I’m forever grateful.
Can you recall the Nicest Thing a Unknown Person Has Once Performed for You?
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