🔗 Share this article

During the final years of the 1980s, I set out on a low-cost journey to the European continent with a friend. Because my friend was exploring starting a postgraduate program in the Big Apple, we had planned a 14-day stopover there on the way to London.

We got to the postgrad residence, a large multi-story edifice on the Upper West Side named International House. Once we unpacked, we went directly to the canteen, where we picked up meals, took a seat, and started talking to fellow residents.

Adjacent to my seat was an individual of Iraqi origin enrolled in an engineering program at a prestigious New York university. He asked me what I did, and I told him that I had newly finished with a scientific background and had been working on studies with electron microscopy.

He noted that there was an research lab at Columbia University – right next door to the engineering department, which was how he knew about 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, even more importantly, I didn’t have a US visa.

The next day I toured the city, coming back to the dining hall that evening. The man from Iraq walked over to me and informed me that he had arranged an interview for me with the director of the microscopy lab at Columbia. Given that he had made the arrangement, I showed up for the discussion – but straight off informed my prospective employer that I lacked the necessary visa, so I was probably wasting her time.

In typical New York fashion – a metropolis where anything feels possible – she declared: “That can be arranged. When can you start?” I missed my plane to London.

I was employed there for three years. A perk of the job was that I was granted complimentary education at Columbia, and I took advantage to finish a postgrad program in international relations.

We didn't cross paths after that and I can't recall his identity, but his selfless gesture changed my life in numerous aspects. I would never have had the confidence or nerve to approach someone at an Ivy League university and seek a position. And, I had long dreamed to study abroad, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that free tuition.

Critically, that gig at Columbia led me to a position in Switzerland where I met my wonderful partner, with whom I now have four wonderful sons and daughters. It was a total sliding doors moment. That benevolent individual redirected my path in life, and I’m always appreciative.

Tell us about the Kindest Gesture a Someone You Didn't Know Has Shown for You?

From brightening your mood to altering your path, we would love to know random meetings that have stuck with you.

We invite you to tell us if you are of legal age, keeping your details private if you prefer. What you share are protected, and are solely for the aim of this article.