During the closing decade of the 80s, I set out on a low-cost journey to the European continent with a friend. Since my travel mate was interested in enrolling in graduate studies in New York, we had booked a fortnight visit there on the way to London.
We got to the postgrad residence, a sizeable multi-story edifice on the Upper West Side called International House. After dropping our bags, we made our way to the cafeteria, where we picked up meals, found a table, and started talking to people eating there.
Sitting next to me was an Iraqi man pursuing an engineering degree at an Ivy League institution. He asked me what I did for a living, and I told him that I had newly finished with a degree in science and had been performing experiments with electron microscopy.
He mentioned that there was an electron microscope unit at Columbia University – close to the engineering faculty, which was how he knew about it. He recommended that I should apply for a job with them. I laughed it off, saying that I was heading off to Europe and, more critically, I lacked a US visa.
The following day I went out exploring, coming back to the dining hall that after dark. The engineering student approached me and informed me that he had arranged an interview 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 informed my interviewer that I lacked the necessary visa, so I was likely not a suitable candidate.
As is common in NYC – a city where anything feels possible – she responded: “We'll handle it. When can you start?” I missed my plane to London.
I was employed there for three years. A perk of the job was that I got free tuition at Columbia, and I seized the chance to complete a graduate degree in global studies.
I never saw that student again and I don’t even know his full name, but his selfless gesture altered my destiny in numerous aspects. I lacked the confidence or self-belief to approach someone at an prestigious college and ask for a job. And, I had always wanted to take classes in another country, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that educational benefit.
Perhaps most importantly, that role at the university resulted in a job in Zurich where I encountered my beautiful French husband, with whom I now have four wonderful sons and daughters. That encounter altered everything. That helpful person set me on a different course in life, and I’m eternally thankful.
What is the Kindest Gesture a Someone You Didn't Know Has Shown for You?
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