In the late 1980s, I set out on a low-cost journey to Europe with a travel partner. Because my companion was interested in enrolling in graduate studies in New York, we had planned a two-week stay there en route to London.
We arrived at the student accommodation, a sizeable ten-floor structure on the UWS known as International House. Once we unpacked, we made our way to the dining hall, where we got some food, found a table, and started talking to other diners.
Beside me was an gentleman from Iraq studying engineering at Columbia University. He inquired what I did for a living, and I told him that I had newly finished with a science degree and had been working on studies using an electron microscope.
He noted that there was an electron microscope unit at Columbia University – adjacent to the engineering faculty, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He recommended that I consider applying for a job with them. I dismissed the idea, telling him that I was about to fly to Europe and, more critically, I didn’t have a US visa.
A day later I ventured out, coming back to the dining hall that night. The engineering student came up to me and told me that he had set up a meeting for me with the head of the electron microscope unit at Columbia. Since he had made the arrangement, I showed up for the discussion – but right away explained to my interviewer that I didn’t have a visa, so I was likely not a suitable candidate.
Reflecting the city's spirit – a city where opportunities abound – she responded: “We can make that happen. When can you start?” I missed my plane to London.
I was employed there for a trio of years. One of the benefits was that I also received free tuition at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to complete a postgrad program in international relations.
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 nerve to reach out at an prestigious college and request employment. Additionally, I had long dreamed to study abroad, but lacked the financial means without that educational benefit.
Perhaps most importantly, that role at the university resulted in a role in Europe where I met my beautiful French husband, with whom I now have four wonderful sons and daughters. That encounter altered everything. That helpful person changed my trajectory in life, and I’m forever grateful.
What is the Most Generous Act a Stranger Has Ever Done for You?
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