An Generosity of People We Don't Know: How a Person I Barely Knew Helped Me Secure the Role That Altered My Path

In the late 1980s, I set out on a budget travel adventure to Europe with a companion. Because my friend was interested in starting a postgraduate program in NYC, we had arranged a 14-day stopover there on the way to London.

We got to the postgrad residence, a large multi-story edifice on the Upper West Side called International House. Setting down our luggage, we went directly to the dining hall, where we got some food, found a table, and engaged in conversation with fellow residents.

Beside me was an Iraqi man studying engineering at a prestigious New York university. He asked me what I my profession was, and I explained that I had newly finished with a degree in science and had been working on studies involving microscopic analysis.

He mentioned that there was an research lab at the university – right next door to the engineering faculty, which was how he knew about it. He recommended that I should apply for a job with them. I laughed it off, explaining that I was soon departing to Europe and, additionally, I didn’t have a US visa.

The following day I went out exploring, going back to the cafeteria that after dark. The man from Iraq approached me and informed me that he had set up a meeting for me with the head of the electron microscope unit at Columbia. Given that he had taken the effort, I attended the interview – but straight off explained to my interviewer that I was without a work permit, so I was unable to accept the role.

In typical New York fashion – a city where anything feels possible – she responded: “We can make that happen. When can you start?” I never got on that flight to London.

I was employed there for a trio of years. A perk of the job was that I was granted no-cost classes at Columbia, and I seized the chance to finish a postgrad program in international relations.

We didn't cross paths after that and I can't recall his full name, but his remarkable generosity transformed my future in multiple respects. I didn't possess the bravery or self-belief to reach out at an prestigious college and seek a position. Moreover, I had always wanted to take classes in another country, but could never have afforded it without that educational benefit.

Critically, that gig at Columbia resulted in a position in Switzerland where I got to know my handsome spouse from France, with whom I currently share a family of four kids. That encounter altered everything. That kind stranger set me on a different course in life, and I’m eternally thankful.

Can you recall the Most Generous Act a Unknown Person Has Once Performed for You?

From making your day to transforming your future, we are interested in chance encounters that have remained in your memory.

Feel free to recount your experience if you are an adult, without revealing your identity if you prefer. Your responses are secure, and are solely for the purpose of this feature.