The Kindness of Strangers: How a Man I Only Just Encountered Supported Me Obtain the Job That Altered My Path

During the late 1980s, I set out on a low-cost journey to the European continent with a companion. Because my companion was exploring starting a postgraduate program in New York, we had arranged a two-week stay there on the way to London.

We arrived at the graduate housing, a big ten-floor structure on the Manhattan's Upper West Side called International House. After dropping our bags, we made our way to the dining hall, where we picked up meals, found a table, and started talking to fellow residents.

Sitting next to me was an individual of Iraqi origin pursuing an engineering degree at a prestigious New York university. He wanted to know what I did, and I shared that I had just graduated with a science degree and had been working on studies using an electron microscope.

He noted that there was an research lab at the university – right next door to the school of engineering, which was how he knew about it. He recommended that I should apply for a role with them. I chuckled at the suggestion, saying that I was soon departing to Europe and, more critically, I lacked a US visa.

A day later I went out exploring, returning to the canteen that night. The engineering student came up to me and let me know that he had organized a discussion for me with the head of the electron microscope unit at Columbia. Because he had taken the effort, I attended the interview – but straight off told my interviewer that I was without a work permit, so I was probably wasting her time.

As is common in NYC – a metropolis where anything feels possible – she declared: “We'll handle it. How soon can you begin?” I never got on that flight to London.

I held that position for three years. A perk of the job was that I also received no-cost classes at Columbia, and I took advantage to complete a postgrad program in international relations.

We didn't cross paths after that and I am unaware of his identity, but his incredible act of kindness altered my destiny in multiple respects. I would never have had the confidence or self-assurance to approach someone at an prestigious college and request employment. Moreover, I had long dreamed to pursue education overseas, but could never have afforded it without that tuition waiver.

Critically, that job in New York led me to a job in Zurich where I got to know my wonderful partner, with whom I now have four amazing children. This was a pivotal life event. That kind stranger changed my trajectory in life, and I’m forever grateful.

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

Whether it's making your day to altering your path, we would love to know chance encounters that have stuck with you.

Feel free to recount your experience if you are an adult, keeping your details private if you choose. The stories you tell are confidential, and will only be used the aim of this article.