🔗 Share this article

During the late 1980s, I set out on a budget travel adventure to the European continent with a companion. Because my companion was interested in starting a postgraduate program in New York, we had booked a fortnight visit there on the way to London.

We got to the graduate housing, a big ten-floor structure on the Upper West Side known as International House. After dropping our bags, we made our way to the canteen, where we got some food, found a table, and started talking to fellow residents.

Adjacent to my seat was an individual of Iraqi origin pursuing an engineering degree at a prestigious New York university. He wanted to know what I did, and I explained that I had newly finished with a scientific background and had been working on studies with electron microscopy.

He mentioned that there was an microscopy facility at Columbia University – close to the engineering faculty, which was why he was aware of it. He suggested that I consider applying for a position with them. I dismissed the idea, saying that I was soon departing to Europe and, additionally, I didn’t have a US visa.

A day later I ventured out, going back to the cafeteria that after dark. The Iraqi student walked over to me and informed me that he had organized a discussion for me with the director of the microscopy lab at Columbia. Since he had made the arrangement, I went to the meeting – but immediately told my interviewer that I was without a work permit, so I was unable to accept the role.

In typical New York fashion – a place where anything feels possible – she responded: “That can be arranged. What's your start date?” I never got on that flight to London.

I worked there for three years. One of the benefits was that I was granted free tuition at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to finish a postgrad program in international relations.

I lost touch with him and I don’t even know his full name, but his incredible act of kindness changed my life in multiple respects. I didn't possess the confidence or nerve to contact anyone at an Ivy League university and seek a position. Moreover, I had long dreamed to take classes in another country, but lacked the financial means without that tuition waiver.

Perhaps most importantly, that gig at Columbia paved the way for a position in Switzerland where I encountered my handsome spouse from France, with whom I now have a family of four kids. This was a pivotal life event. That benevolent individual set me on a different course in life, and I’m forever grateful.

Tell us about the Nicest Thing a Stranger Has Once Performed 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.

Feel free to recount your experience if you are of legal age, anonymously if you choose. Your responses are confidential, and are intended for the aim of this article.