🔗 Share this article

During the final years of the 1980s, I was embarking on a low-cost journey to the European continent with a travel partner. Because my travel mate was considering starting a postgraduate program in New York, we had planned a 14-day stopover there on the way to London.

We got to the student accommodation, a big ten-floor structure on the Upper West Side called International House. After dropping our bags, we headed straight to the dining hall, where we got some food, took a seat, and engaged in conversation with fellow residents.

Adjacent to my seat was an Iraqi man enrolled in an engineering program at a prestigious New York university. He inquired what I did, and I shared that I had just graduated with a degree in science and had been conducting research involving microscopic analysis.

He mentioned that there was an research lab at the university – right next door to the engineering department, which was why he was aware of it. He suggested that I consider applying for a role with them. I laughed it off, saying that I was soon departing 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 Iraqi student came up to me and let me know that he had arranged an interview for me with the leader of the research team at Columbia. Because he had gone to the trouble, I showed up for the discussion – but straight off told my host 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 said: “We can make that happen. What's your start date?” I never got on that flight to London.

I worked there for a trio of years. An advantage of the role was that I was granted complimentary education at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to finish a postgrad program in international relations.

I lost touch with him and I am unaware of his identity, but his remarkable generosity changed my life in so many ways. I would never have had the courage or nerve to reach out at an Ivy League university and request employment. And, I had always wanted to study abroad, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that tuition waiver.

Perhaps most importantly, that job in New York resulted in a position in Switzerland where I met my handsome spouse from France, with whom I currently share four amazing children. That encounter altered everything. That benevolent individual set me on a different course in life, and I’m always appreciative.

What is the Most Generous Act a Someone You Didn't Know Has Ever Done for You?

Whether it's brightening your mood to altering your path, we are interested in chance encounters that have remained in your memory.

Please share your story if you are of legal age, anonymously if you choose. The stories you tell are secure, and will only be used the purpose of this feature.