During the final years of the 1980s, I was beginning a backpacking trip to Europe with a companion. Since my friend was considering starting a postgraduate program in NYC, we had booked a fortnight visit there on the way to London.
We arrived at the postgrad residence, a big multi-story edifice on the Manhattan's Upper West Side called International House. After dropping our bags, 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 Iraqi man studying engineering at Columbia University. He asked me what I did for a living, and I explained that I had recently completed my studies with a degree in science and had been conducting research involving microscopic analysis.
He mentioned that there was an research lab at the university – adjacent to the engineering department, which was why he was aware of it. He recommended that I consider applying for a position with them. I chuckled at the suggestion, saying that I was heading off to Europe and, additionally, I didn’t have a US visa.
A day later I went out exploring, returning to the canteen that after dark. The Iraqi student approached me and let me know that he had set up a meeting for me with the leader of the research team at Columbia. Because he had made the arrangement, I went to the meeting – but right away informed my prospective employer that I was without a work permit, so I was probably wasting her time.
In typical New York fashion – a place where everything seems achievable – she said: “We can make that happen. When can you start?” I didn't board the aircraft to London.
I worked there for three years. An advantage of the role was that I also received no-cost classes at Columbia, and I seized the chance to earn a postgrad program in international relations.
I lost touch with him and I am unaware of his identity, but his remarkable generosity transformed my future in so many ways. I lacked the confidence or nerve to contact anyone at an Ivy League university and ask for a job. And, I had long dreamed to study abroad, but lacked the financial means without that free tuition.
Critically, that job in New York led me to a job in Zurich where I encountered my wonderful partner, with whom I now have four wonderful sons and daughters. It was a total sliding doors moment. That helpful person set me on a different course in life, and I’m forever grateful.
Can you recall the Nicest Thing a Someone You Didn't Know Has Shown for You?
From cheering you up to changing your life, we are interested in unexpected interactions that have remained in your memory.
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