In the final years of the 1980s, I set out on a low-cost journey to Europe with a companion. Because my friend was exploring enrolling in graduate studies in the Big Apple, we had booked a two-week stay there en route to London.
We arrived at the graduate housing, a sizeable multi-story edifice on the UWS called International House. After dropping our bags, we headed straight to the dining hall, where we got some food, found a table, and started talking to fellow residents.
Sitting next to me was an Iraqi man enrolled in an engineering program at a prestigious New York university. He inquired what I did, and I told him that I had just graduated with a science degree and had been working on studies with electron microscopy.
He noted that there was an research lab at the institution – close to the engineering faculty, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He recommended that I should apply for a position with them. I chuckled at the suggestion, explaining that I was heading off to Europe and, additionally, I lacked a US visa.
The following day I ventured out, returning to the canteen that after dark. The engineering student walked over to me and let me know that he had set up a meeting for me with the head of the electron microscope unit at Columbia. Because he had gone to the trouble, I attended the interview – but right away told my interviewer that I didn’t have a visa, so I was likely not a suitable candidate.
Reflecting the city's spirit – a metropolis where anything feels possible – she declared: “That can be arranged. When can you start?” I never got on that flight to London.
I was employed there for three years. One of the benefits was that I got complimentary education at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to finish a graduate degree in global studies.
I never saw that student again and I am unaware of his name, but his remarkable generosity transformed my future in numerous aspects. I didn't possess the confidence or self-belief to approach someone at an elite institution and request employment. And, I had always wanted to study abroad, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that free tuition.
Critically, that role at the university paved the way for a position in Switzerland where I encountered my beautiful French husband, with whom I am raising four wonderful sons and daughters. That encounter altered everything. That helpful person set me on a different course in life, and I’m eternally thankful.
Can you recall the Most Generous Act a Someone You Didn't Know Has Ever Done for You?
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