In the late 1980s, I set out on a budget travel adventure to Europe with a friend. Since my companion was considering enrolling in graduate studies in NYC, we had booked a fortnight visit there before heading to London.
We arrived at the graduate housing, a big multi-story edifice on the Upper West Side called International House. Setting down our luggage, we made our way to the dining hall, where we picked up meals, sat down, and started talking to people eating there.
Adjacent to my seat was an gentleman from Iraq enrolled in an engineering program 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 performing experiments involving microscopic analysis.
He noted that there was an research lab at the university – adjacent to the engineering department, which was how he knew about it. He suggested that I ought to seek a position with them. I chuckled at the suggestion, explaining that I was about to fly to Europe and, more critically, I lacked a US visa.
A day later I ventured out, returning to the canteen that evening. The man from Iraq walked over to me and informed me that he had set up a meeting for me with the head of the electron microscope unit at Columbia. Since he had taken the effort, I showed up for the discussion – but straight off told my host that I lacked the necessary visa, so I was probably wasting her time.
In typical New York fashion – a place where opportunities abound – she said: “That can be arranged. How soon can you begin?” I didn't board the aircraft to London.
I worked there for three years. A perk of the job was that I was granted no-cost classes at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to finish a graduate degree in global studies.
I lost touch with him and I don’t even know his identity, but his remarkable generosity changed my life in numerous aspects. I would never have had the bravery or self-belief to approach someone at an elite institution and ask for a job. Moreover, I had always wanted to take classes in another country, but could never have afforded it without that tuition waiver.
Perhaps most importantly, that role at the university led me to a position in Switzerland where I encountered my beautiful French husband, with whom I am raising four amazing children. That encounter altered everything. That helpful person redirected my path in life, and I’m always appreciative.
Can you recall the Nicest Thing a Stranger Has Shown for You?
Whether it's cheering you up to altering your path, we are interested in unexpected interactions that have remained in your memory.
Feel free to recount your experience if you are an adult, anonymously if you prefer. Your responses are confidential, and will only be used the aim of this article.
