In the final years of the 1980s, I was beginning a budget travel adventure to the European continent with a friend. Since my companion was exploring enrolling in graduate studies in New York, we had booked a 14-day stopover there on the way to London.
We reached the postgrad residence, a big multi-story edifice on the Manhattan's Upper West Side known as International House. Setting down our luggage, we went directly to the dining hall, where we grabbed food, took a seat, and started talking to people eating there.
Sitting next to me was an individual of Iraqi origin pursuing an engineering degree at a prestigious New York university. He asked me what I my profession was, and I shared that I had just graduated with a science degree and had been conducting research using an electron microscope.
He mentioned that there was an electron microscope unit at the university – right next door to the engineering faculty, which was how he knew about it. He suggested that I should apply for a job with them. I laughed it off, telling him that I was soon departing to Europe and, more critically, I lacked a US visa.
The next day I went out exploring, coming back to the dining hall that evening. The engineering student 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 went to the meeting – but right away explained to my host that I lacked the necessary visa, so I was likely not a suitable candidate.
As is common in NYC – a place where everything seems achievable – she declared: “We'll handle it. How soon can you begin?” I never got on that flight to London.
I held that position for 36 months. A perk of the job was that I was granted no-cost classes at Columbia, and I took advantage to finish a postgrad program in international relations.
I never saw that student again and I don’t even know his identity, but his remarkable generosity transformed my future in numerous aspects. I would never have had the courage or self-assurance to approach someone at an elite institution and request employment. Moreover, I had always wanted to pursue education overseas, but lacked the financial means without that educational benefit.
Perhaps most importantly, that job in New York led me to a role in Europe where I encountered my handsome spouse from France, with whom I am raising a family of four kids. That encounter altered everything. That benevolent individual set me on a different course in life, and I’m eternally thankful.
Can you recall the Most Generous Act a Someone You Didn't Know Has Shown for You?
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