In the late 1980s, I was beginning a budget travel adventure to the European continent with a travel partner. Because my travel mate was interested in starting a postgraduate program in NYC, we had booked a 14-day stopover there on the way to London.
We got to the postgrad residence, a large 10-storey building on the Manhattan's Upper West Side known as International House. Setting down our luggage, we headed straight to the dining hall, where we picked up meals, took a seat, and began chatting with other diners.
Beside me was an Iraqi man 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 degree in science and had been working on studies using an electron microscope.
He noted that there was an electron microscope unit at the institution – right next door to the school of engineering, which was why he was aware of it. He suggested that I ought to seek a job with them. I chuckled at the suggestion, telling him that I was soon departing to Europe and, more critically, I lacked a US visa.
The following day I toured the city, going back to the cafeteria that evening. The engineering student approached me and informed me that he had set up a meeting for me with the director of the microscopy lab at Columbia. Given that he had made the arrangement, I went to the meeting – but right away informed my host that I didn’t have a visa, so I was likely not a suitable candidate.
As is common in NYC – a place where everything seems achievable – she declared: “That can be arranged. What's your start date?” I missed my plane to London.
I worked there for a trio of years. One of the benefits was that I was granted no-cost classes at Columbia, and I seized the chance to earn a graduate degree in global studies.
I lost touch with him and I am unaware of his identity, but his remarkable generosity transformed my future in multiple respects. I didn't possess the bravery or self-assurance to contact anyone at an Ivy League university and ask for a job. Moreover, I had consistently hoped to study abroad, but lacked the financial means without that tuition waiver.
Perhaps most importantly, that job in New York paved the way for a job in Zurich where I got to know my beautiful French husband, with whom I am raising four amazing children. This was a pivotal life event. That helpful person redirected my path in life, and I’m eternally thankful.
Can you recall the Nicest Thing a Someone You Didn't Know Has Once Performed for You?
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