🔗 Share this article

During the final years of the 1980s, I was embarking on a backpacking trip to the European continent with a friend. Since my companion was interested in starting a postgraduate program in New York, we had planned a two-week stay there en route to London.

We arrived at the graduate housing, a big multi-story edifice on the Upper West Side named International House. After dropping our bags, we headed straight to the cafeteria, where we got some food, sat down, and engaged in conversation with people eating there.

Adjacent to my seat was an gentleman from Iraq enrolled in an engineering program at Columbia University. He inquired what I did, and I told him that I had newly finished with a science degree and had been conducting research with electron microscopy.

He noted that there was an microscopy facility at the university – adjacent to the school of engineering, which was why he was aware of it. He proposed that I ought to seek a job with them. I laughed it off, explaining that I was about to fly to Europe and, additionally, I lacked a US visa.

A day later I toured the city, returning to the canteen that after dark. The Iraqi student walked over to me and let me know that he had organized a discussion for me with the leader of the research team at Columbia. Because he had taken the effort, I attended the interview – but right away told my interviewer that I lacked the necessary visa, so I was probably wasting her time.

In typical New York fashion – a place where opportunities abound – she responded: “We can make that happen. When can you start?” I didn't board the aircraft to London.

I was employed there for three years. A perk of the job was that I got free tuition at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to earn a postgrad program in international relations.

I lost touch with him and I don’t even know his name, but his selfless gesture altered my destiny in multiple respects. I lacked the bravery or self-belief to approach someone at an prestigious college and request employment. Additionally, I had always wanted to take classes in another country, but could never have afforded it without that educational benefit.

Perhaps most importantly, that job in New York paved the way for a role in Europe where I got to know my handsome spouse from France, with whom I now have a family of four kids. It was a total sliding doors moment. That kind stranger set me on a different course in life, and I’m always appreciative.

Can you recall the Most Generous Act a Stranger Has Ever Done for You?

Whether it's cheering you up to changing your life, we are interested in random meetings that have remained in your memory.

Feel free to recount your experience if you are 18 or over, keeping your details private if you choose. The stories you tell are protected, and are intended for the aim of this article.