🔗 Share this article

In the closing decade of the 80s, I set out on a budget travel adventure to the European continent with a friend. Because my travel mate was interested in enrolling in graduate studies in New York, we had booked a fortnight visit there en route to London.

We arrived at the student accommodation, a large ten-floor structure on the Manhattan's Upper West Side known as International House. Once we unpacked, we headed straight to the canteen, where we grabbed food, sat down, and began chatting with people eating there.

Sitting next to me was an gentleman from Iraq studying engineering at an Ivy League institution. He inquired what I did, and I explained that I had recently completed my studies with a scientific background and had been performing experiments involving microscopic analysis.

He pointed out that there was an research lab at the university – right next door to the school of engineering, which was why he was aware of it. He recommended that I consider applying for a job with them. I dismissed the idea, telling him that I was heading off to Europe and, more critically, I did not possess a US visa.

A day later I toured the city, returning to the canteen that after dark. The engineering student walked over to me and informed me that he had arranged an interview for me with the head of the electron microscope unit at Columbia. Given that he had gone to the trouble, I attended the interview – but immediately told my host that I was without a work permit, so I was unable to accept the role.

Reflecting the city's spirit – a city where opportunities abound – she said: “We can make that happen. What's your start date?” I missed my plane to London.

I was employed there for 36 months. A perk of the job was that I got free tuition at Columbia, and I seized the chance to finish a postgrad program in international relations.

I lost touch with him and I don’t even know his full name, but his selfless gesture altered my destiny in so many ways. I lacked the confidence or self-belief to approach someone at an elite institution and ask for a job. Additionally, I had always wanted to study abroad, but lacked the financial means without that educational benefit.

What's more, that gig at Columbia resulted in a job in Zurich where I met my beautiful French husband, with whom I currently share four amazing children. That encounter altered everything. That kind stranger changed my trajectory in life, and I’m forever grateful.

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

From cheering you up to transforming your future, we are interested in unexpected interactions that have remained in your memory.

Feel free to recount your experience if you are 18 or over, anonymously if you prefer. What you share are protected, and will only be used the purpose of this feature.