In the final years of the 1980s, I set out on a low-cost journey to the European continent with a companion. Since my friend was exploring starting a postgraduate program in New York, we had planned a 14-day stopover there on the way to London.
We arrived at the graduate housing, a sizeable multi-story edifice on the Manhattan's Upper West Side called International House. Once we unpacked, we went directly to the dining hall, where we grabbed food, sat down, and started talking to people eating there.
Beside me was an individual of Iraqi origin studying engineering at an Ivy League institution. He wanted to know what I did for a living, and I told him that I had just graduated with a scientific background and had been performing experiments with electron microscopy.
He noted that there was an research lab at the institution – close to the school of engineering, which was why he was aware of it. He proposed that I consider applying for a job with them. I laughed it off, saying that I was soon departing to Europe and, additionally, I lacked a US visa.
A day later I ventured out, going back to the cafeteria that night. The Iraqi student approached me and told me that he had organized a discussion 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 straight off informed my host that I didn’t have a visa, so I was probably wasting her time.
As is common in NYC – a metropolis where everything seems achievable – she responded: “We'll handle it. How soon can you begin?” I didn't board the aircraft to London.
I held that position for 36 months. One of the benefits was that I also received no-cost classes at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to complete a postgrad program in international relations.
We didn't cross paths after that and I am unaware of his full name, but his remarkable generosity changed my life in numerous aspects. I would never have had the bravery or nerve to approach someone at an Ivy League university and ask for a job. Moreover, I had consistently hoped to pursue education overseas, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that educational benefit.
Perhaps most importantly, that gig at Columbia paved the way for a position in Switzerland where I encountered my handsome spouse from France, with whom I now have four wonderful sons and daughters. That encounter altered everything. That kind stranger changed my trajectory in life, and I’m forever grateful.
Can you recall the Most Generous Act a Someone You Didn't Know Has Once Performed for You?
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