🔗 Share this article

During the late 1980s, I was beginning a low-cost journey to Europe with a companion. Because my companion was exploring pursuing a master’s degree in New York, we had arranged a two-week stay there en route to London.

We arrived at the graduate housing, a sizeable 10-storey building on the Manhattan's Upper West Side named International House. Setting down our luggage, we headed straight to the canteen, where we got some food, found a table, and began chatting with people eating there.

Sitting next to me was an individual of Iraqi origin enrolled in an engineering program at an Ivy League institution. He asked me what I my profession was, and I explained that I had newly finished with a science degree and had been working on studies involving microscopic analysis.

He mentioned that there was an microscopy facility at Columbia University – close to the engineering faculty, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He proposed that I should apply for a role with them. I chuckled at the suggestion, telling him that I was about to fly to Europe and, more critically, I did not possess a US visa.

A day later I ventured out, going back to the cafeteria that night. The engineering student approached me and told me that he had organized a discussion for me with the leader of the research team at Columbia. Because he had made the arrangement, I attended the interview – but straight off explained to my host that I lacked the necessary visa, so I was unable to accept the role.

In typical New York fashion – a city where opportunities abound – she declared: “We'll handle it. What's your start date?” I never got on that flight to London.

I was employed there for 36 months. One of the benefits was that I was granted no-cost classes at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to complete a master’s of international affairs.

We didn't cross paths after that and I can't recall his full name, but his remarkable generosity changed my life in so many ways. I would never have had the courage or self-belief to reach out at an Ivy League university and seek a position. Additionally, I had long dreamed to take classes in another country, but could never have afforded it without that free tuition.

Perhaps most importantly, that role at the university paved the way for a position in Switzerland where I got to know my handsome spouse from France, with whom I am raising a family of four kids. It was a total sliding doors moment. That kind stranger changed my trajectory in life, and I’m forever grateful.

What is the Nicest Thing a Someone You Didn't Know Has Shown for You?

Whether it's brightening your mood to transforming your future, we would love to know random meetings that have remained in your memory.

We invite you to tell us if you are an adult, keeping your details private if you choose. What you share are secure, and will only be used the purpose of this feature.