During the final years of the 1980s, I set out on a backpacking trip to Europe with a travel partner. Because my travel mate was considering starting a postgraduate program in NYC, we had arranged a two-week stay there before heading to London.
We reached the graduate housing, a large multi-story edifice on the Manhattan's Upper West Side known as International House. After dropping our bags, we went directly to the canteen, where we grabbed food, found a table, and engaged in conversation with people eating there.
Sitting next to me was an Iraqi man enrolled in an engineering program at an Ivy League institution. He inquired what I my profession was, and I shared that I had recently completed my studies with a scientific background and had been working on studies involving microscopic analysis.
He pointed out that there was an microscopy facility at the university – adjacent to the engineering faculty, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He proposed that I ought to seek a role with them. I laughed it off, telling him that I was soon departing to Europe and, additionally, I lacked a US visa.
The following day I went out exploring, going back to the cafeteria that night. The engineering student 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. Because he had gone to the trouble, I went to the meeting – but right away told my interviewer that I lacked the necessary visa, so I was unable to accept the role.
Reflecting the city's spirit – a city where opportunities abound – she said: “That can be arranged. When can you start?” I didn't board the aircraft to London.
I was employed there for three years. An advantage of the role was that I got no-cost classes at Columbia, and I took advantage to complete a master’s of international affairs.
We didn't cross paths after that and I don’t even know his full name, but his selfless gesture transformed my future in numerous aspects. I didn't possess the courage or self-belief to approach someone at an prestigious college and ask for a job. And, I had consistently hoped to pursue education overseas, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that educational benefit.
What's more, that job in New York resulted in a job in Zurich where I encountered my wonderful partner, with whom I am raising four amazing children. It was a total sliding doors moment. That benevolent individual set me on a different course in life, and I’m eternally thankful.
Can you recall the Nicest Thing a Stranger Has Shown for You?
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