🔗 Share this article

During the final years of the 1980s, I was embarking on a backpacking trip to the European continent with a companion. Since my travel mate was interested in starting a postgraduate program in New York, we had booked a fortnight visit there on the way to London.

We got to the student accommodation, a large ten-floor structure on the UWS called International House. Once we unpacked, we went directly to the dining hall, where we got some food, sat down, and started talking to other diners.

Sitting next to me was an Iraqi man pursuing an engineering degree at a prestigious New York university. He asked me what I did, and I explained that I had just graduated with a scientific background and had been conducting research involving microscopic analysis.

He noted that there was an electron microscope unit at the university – right next door to the engineering faculty, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He proposed that I ought to seek a job with them. I chuckled at the suggestion, telling him that I was about to fly to Europe and, additionally, I did not possess a US visa.

The next day I went out exploring, coming back to the dining hall that evening. The man from Iraq approached me and told me that he had organized a discussion for me with the director of the microscopy lab at Columbia. Given that he had taken the effort, I went to the meeting – but right away told my host that I didn’t have a visa, so I was probably wasting her time.

In typical New York fashion – a city where opportunities abound – she responded: “We can make that happen. What's your start date?” I missed my plane to London.

I was employed there for a trio of years. One of the benefits was that I also received no-cost classes at Columbia, and I took advantage to earn a graduate degree in global studies.

We didn't cross paths after that and I am unaware of his full name, but his incredible act of kindness altered my destiny in numerous aspects. I lacked the confidence or self-belief to reach out at an Ivy League university and ask for a job. Additionally, I had long dreamed to take classes in another country, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that free tuition.

Critically, that role at the university resulted in a role in Europe where I encountered my handsome spouse from France, with whom I currently share four amazing children. This was a pivotal life event. That helpful person set me on a different course in life, and I’m forever grateful.

Can you recall the Most Generous Act a Someone You Didn't Know Has Once Performed for You?

Whether it's cheering you up to transforming your future, we are interested in random meetings that have remained in your memory.

We invite you to tell us if you are 18 or over, anonymously if you prefer. What you share are confidential, and will only be used the aim of this article.