🔗 Share this article

In the final years of the 1980s, I was beginning a backpacking trip to Europe with a travel partner. Because my companion was exploring enrolling in graduate studies in the Big Apple, we had planned a fortnight visit there before heading to London.

We got to the student accommodation, a sizeable multi-story edifice on the Manhattan's Upper West Side known as International House. Setting down our luggage, we made our way to the dining hall, where we picked up meals, 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 inquired what I did for a living, and I shared that I had recently completed my studies with a degree in science and had been working on studies with electron microscopy.

He noted that there was an electron microscope unit at the university – right next door to the engineering department, which was why he was aware of it. He proposed that I ought to seek a job with them. I dismissed the idea, telling him that I was soon departing to Europe and, more critically, I lacked a US visa.

A day later I toured the city, coming back to the dining hall that after dark. The engineering 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 taken the effort, I attended the interview – but immediately explained to my interviewer that I lacked the necessary visa, so I was probably wasting her time.

In typical New York fashion – a place where anything feels possible – 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. An advantage of the role was that I was granted complimentary education at Columbia, and I took advantage to earn a graduate degree in global studies.

I lost touch with him and I can't recall his full name, but his incredible act of kindness altered my destiny in multiple respects. I lacked the confidence or nerve to reach out at an elite institution and request employment. Additionally, I had consistently hoped to pursue education overseas, but could never have afforded it without that tuition waiver.

Critically, that job in New York led me to a role in Europe where I met my wonderful partner, with whom I am raising four wonderful sons and daughters. That encounter altered everything. That helpful person set me on a different course in life, and I’m eternally thankful.

Tell us about the Most Generous Act a Unknown Person Has Ever Done for You?

From cheering you up to changing your life, we would love to know chance encounters that have left a lasting impression.

We invite you to tell us if you are of legal age, without revealing your identity if you wish. Your responses are confidential, and will only be used the aim of this article.