🔗 Share this article

In the final years of the 1980s, I was embarking on a backpacking trip to Europe with a companion. Because my friend was exploring enrolling in graduate studies in the Big Apple, we had arranged a two-week stay there on the way to London.

We reached the graduate housing, a sizeable multi-story edifice on the UWS named International House. After dropping our bags, we headed straight to the dining hall, where we picked up meals, found a table, and started talking to fellow residents.

Sitting next to me was an gentleman from Iraq studying engineering at a prestigious New York university. He inquired what I did, and I explained that I had recently completed my studies with a scientific background and had been conducting research with electron microscopy.

He pointed out that there was an electron microscope unit at the university – close to the school of engineering, which was how he knew about it. He recommended that I ought to seek a role with them. I dismissed the idea, telling him that I was soon departing to Europe and, additionally, I didn’t have a US visa.

The next day I toured the city, coming back to the dining hall that evening. The man from Iraq came up to me and told me that he had organized a discussion 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 straight off told my interviewer that I was without a work permit, so I was unable to accept the role.

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

I worked there for a trio of years. A perk of the job was that I also received free tuition at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to complete a master’s of international affairs.

I lost touch with him and I am unaware of his full name, but his remarkable generosity changed my life in multiple respects. I would never have had the courage or self-belief to contact anyone at an prestigious college and request employment. And, I had long dreamed to study abroad, but could never have afforded it without that free tuition.

What's more, that gig at Columbia paved the way for a position in Switzerland where I met my beautiful French husband, with whom I now have four wonderful sons and daughters. That encounter altered everything. That benevolent individual set me on a different course in life, and I’m forever grateful.

Tell us about the Nicest Thing a Stranger Has Once Performed for You?

Whether it's making your day to altering your path, we are interested in chance encounters that have stuck with you.

We invite you to tell us if you are 18 or over, keeping your details private if you wish. The stories you tell are protected, and are intended for the aim of this article.