🔗 Share this article

During the late 1980s, I was beginning a budget travel adventure to the European continent with a travel partner. Since my friend was interested in pursuing a master’s degree in NYC, we had booked a 14-day stopover there en route to London.

We got to the graduate housing, a big ten-floor structure on the UWS known as International House. Once we unpacked, we made our way to the cafeteria, where we picked up meals, sat down, and engaged in conversation with fellow residents.

Sitting next to me was an Iraqi man enrolled in an engineering program at Columbia University. He wanted to know what I did, and I explained that I had just graduated with a degree in science and had been performing experiments involving microscopic analysis.

He noted that there was an electron microscope unit at Columbia University – close to the engineering faculty, which was why he was aware of it. He suggested that I consider applying for a job with them. I laughed it off, explaining that I was soon departing to Europe and, more critically, I lacked a US visa.

A day later I toured the city, going back to the cafeteria that after dark. The engineering student approached me and told me that he had arranged an interview for me with the head of the electron microscope unit at Columbia. Since he had gone to the trouble, I attended the interview – but right away told my prospective employer that I didn’t have a visa, so I was probably wasting her time.

As is common in NYC – a metropolis where opportunities abound – she said: “We can make that happen. When can you start?” I missed my plane to London.

I was employed there for three years. An advantage of the role was that I also received complimentary education at Columbia, and I seized the chance to earn a graduate degree in global studies.

We didn't cross paths after that and I don’t even know his identity, but his remarkable generosity changed my life in so many ways. I would never have had the courage or self-assurance to contact anyone at an Ivy League university and seek a position. Moreover, I had always wanted to study abroad, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that educational benefit.

Critically, that gig at Columbia paved the way for a job in Zurich where I encountered my handsome spouse from France, with whom I now have four wonderful sons and daughters. That encounter altered everything. That helpful person changed my trajectory in life, and I’m eternally thankful.

Can you recall the Most Generous Act a Someone You Didn't Know Has Ever Done for You?

From cheering you up to changing your life, we are interested in random meetings that have stuck with you.

We invite you to tell us if you are 18 or over, keeping your details private if you choose. Your responses are confidential, and will only be used the aim of this article.