During the final years of the 1980s, I was beginning a backpacking trip to the European continent with a travel partner. Since my companion was exploring starting a postgraduate program in New York, we had booked a fortnight visit there en route to London.
We reached the postgrad residence, a sizeable ten-floor structure on the Manhattan's Upper West Side known as International House. Setting down our luggage, we made our way to the canteen, where we got some food, took a seat, and started talking to other diners.
Adjacent to my seat was an individual of Iraqi origin studying engineering at a prestigious New York university. He asked me what I my profession was, and I told him that I had just graduated with a degree in science and had been working on studies involving microscopic analysis.
He pointed out that there was an electron microscope unit at the university – right next door to the school of engineering, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He suggested that I should apply for a job with them. I chuckled at the suggestion, saying that I was soon departing to Europe and, more critically, I did not possess a US visa.
A day later I ventured out, coming back to the dining hall that night. The Iraqi student approached me and told me that he had set up a meeting for me with the director of the microscopy lab at Columbia. Because he had made the arrangement, I attended the interview – but right away told my prospective employer that I lacked the necessary visa, so I was likely not a suitable candidate.
Reflecting the city's spirit – a city where everything seems achievable – she declared: “We'll handle it. When can you start?” I never got on that flight to London.
I was employed there for 36 months. One of the benefits was that I also received free tuition at Columbia, and I seized the chance to finish a postgrad program in international relations.
We didn't cross paths after that and I don’t even know his name, but his selfless gesture altered my destiny in so many ways. I didn't possess the courage or self-assurance to contact anyone at an elite institution 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 tuition waiver.
What's more, that job in New York paved the way for a job in Zurich where I met my wonderful partner, with whom I am raising four wonderful sons and daughters. That encounter altered everything. That benevolent individual changed my trajectory in life, and I’m always appreciative.
Can you recall the Most Generous Act a Someone You Didn't Know Has Ever Done for You?
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