In the late 1980s, I was beginning a backpacking trip to Europe with a friend. Because my friend was interested in enrolling in graduate studies in NYC, we had arranged a fortnight visit there on the way to London.
We reached the postgrad residence, a large multi-story edifice on the Upper West Side known as International House. Once we unpacked, we went directly to the canteen, where we picked up meals, took a seat, and began chatting with people eating there.
Adjacent to my seat was an gentleman from Iraq pursuing an engineering degree at a prestigious New York university. He asked me what I did, and I explained that I had recently completed my studies with a science degree and had been conducting research with electron microscopy.
He noted that there was an microscopy facility at Columbia University – adjacent to the engineering faculty, which was why he was aware of it. He proposed that I ought to seek a position 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 toured the city, coming back to the dining hall that after dark. The man from Iraq came up to me and informed me that he had organized a discussion for me with the leader of the research team at Columbia. Given that he had taken the effort, I showed up for the discussion – but immediately told my host that I didn’t have a visa, so I was unable to accept the role.
In typical New York fashion – a metropolis where everything seems achievable – she said: “We can make that happen. How soon can you begin?” I never got on that flight to London.
I worked there for three years. One of the benefits was that I was granted no-cost classes at Columbia, and I seized the chance to earn a master’s of international affairs.
I never saw that student again and I don’t even know his name, but his selfless gesture changed my life in multiple respects. I lacked the courage or nerve to approach someone at an Ivy League university and ask for a job. Additionally, I had long dreamed to study abroad, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that educational benefit.
Critically, that role at the university resulted in a job in Zurich where I met my wonderful partner, with whom I am raising four amazing children. It was a total sliding doors moment. That benevolent individual changed my trajectory in life, and I’m forever grateful.
Can you recall the Most Generous Act a Unknown Person Has Once Performed for You?
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