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During the closing decade of the 80s, I set out on a budget travel adventure to Europe with a companion. Because my travel mate was exploring enrolling in graduate studies in New York, we had booked a 14-day stopover there en route to London.

We reached the student accommodation, a big multi-story edifice on the Upper West Side named International House. Once we unpacked, we headed straight to the dining hall, where we got some food, took a seat, and engaged in conversation with people eating there.

Sitting next to me was an Iraqi man studying engineering at a prestigious New York university. He asked me what I did for a living, and I told him that I had recently completed my studies with a science degree and had been working on studies with electron microscopy.

He noted that there was an microscopy facility at Columbia University – right next door to the engineering faculty, which was how he knew about it. He suggested that I consider applying for a position with them. I chuckled at the suggestion, saying that I was soon departing to Europe and, even more importantly, I lacked a US visa.

The next day I toured the city, returning to the canteen that night. The man from Iraq walked over to me and informed me that he had set up a meeting for me with the head of the electron microscope unit at Columbia. Because he had taken the effort, I went to the meeting – but right away told my interviewer that I lacked the necessary visa, so I was unable to accept the role.

In typical New York fashion – a metropolis where anything feels possible – she said: “We can make that happen. When can you start?” I missed my plane to London.

I was employed there for a trio of years. One of the benefits was that I was granted free tuition at Columbia, and I seized the chance to earn a master’s of international affairs.

I lost touch with him and I don’t even know his full name, but his remarkable generosity altered my destiny in multiple respects. I lacked the bravery or self-assurance to reach out at an elite institution and seek a position. And, I had long dreamed to pursue education overseas, but lacked the financial means without that free tuition.

Perhaps most importantly, that role at the university led me to a job in Zurich where I encountered my beautiful French husband, with whom I am raising a family of four kids. This was a pivotal life event. That helpful person changed my trajectory in life, and I’m forever grateful.

What is the Kindest Gesture a Unknown Person Has Ever Done for You?

Whether it's making your day to changing your life, we would love to know random meetings that have left a lasting impression.

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