During the final years of the 1980s, I set out on a backpacking trip to the European continent with a travel partner. Because my friend was considering enrolling in graduate studies in NYC, we had booked a fortnight visit there on the way to London.
We arrived at the postgrad residence, a sizeable multi-story edifice on the Upper West Side named International House. Once we unpacked, we went directly to the cafeteria, where we grabbed food, found a table, and started talking to people eating there.
Beside me was an Iraqi man studying engineering at an Ivy League institution. He asked me what I did, and I explained that I had just graduated with a scientific background and had been performing experiments using an electron microscope.
He pointed out that there was an research lab at Columbia University – adjacent to the engineering faculty, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He proposed that I ought to seek a position with them. I dismissed the idea, explaining that I was about to fly to Europe and, additionally, I did not possess a US visa.
The next day I went out exploring, going back to the cafeteria that after dark. The man from Iraq approached me and told me that he had arranged an interview for me with the leader of the research team at Columbia. Because he had made the arrangement, I went to the meeting – but straight off told my prospective employer that I didn’t have a visa, so I was likely not a suitable candidate.
Reflecting the city's spirit – a place where everything seems achievable – she said: “We'll handle it. How soon can you begin?” I missed my plane to London.
I was employed there for three years. An advantage of the role was that I also received complimentary education at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to complete a postgrad program in international relations.
I lost touch with him and I am unaware of his name, but his remarkable generosity changed my life in multiple respects. I would never have had the confidence or nerve to contact anyone at an Ivy League university and request employment. Additionally, I had consistently hoped to pursue education overseas, but could never have afforded it without that tuition waiver.
What's more, that gig at Columbia led me to a job in Zurich where I met my handsome spouse from France, with whom I currently share a family of four kids. That encounter altered everything. That benevolent individual set me on a different course in life, and I’m always appreciative.
Can you recall the Most Generous Act a Someone You Didn't Know Has Ever Done for You?
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