🔗 Share this article

During the final years of the 1980s, I was embarking on a budget travel adventure to the European continent with a companion. Since my travel mate was exploring enrolling in graduate studies in the Big Apple, we had arranged a 14-day stopover there before heading to London.

We arrived at the graduate housing, a sizeable ten-floor structure on the Manhattan's Upper West Side called International House. Setting down our luggage, we headed straight to the dining hall, where we picked up meals, sat down, and engaged in conversation with fellow residents.

Adjacent to my seat was an Iraqi man enrolled in an engineering program at Columbia University. He wanted to know what I did, and I explained that I had recently completed my studies with a scientific background and had been working on studies using an electron microscope.

He pointed out that there was an electron microscope unit at the university – right next door 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 heading off to Europe and, additionally, I lacked a US visa.

The following day I toured the city, returning to the canteen that night. The engineering student walked over to me and told me that he had organized a discussion for me with the head of the electron microscope unit at Columbia. Since he had made the arrangement, I showed up for the discussion – but straight off informed my prospective employer that I lacked the necessary visa, so I was likely not a suitable candidate.

In typical New York fashion – a city where everything seems achievable – she declared: “That can be arranged. When can you start?” I didn't board the aircraft to London.

I held that position for three years. A perk of the job was that I was granted complimentary education at Columbia, and I seized the chance to earn a postgrad program in international relations.

I never saw that student again and I can't recall his full name, but his selfless gesture transformed my future in multiple respects. I lacked the confidence or self-belief to reach out at an prestigious college and request employment. And, I had long dreamed to take classes in another country, but lacked the financial means without that educational benefit.

Perhaps most importantly, that job in New York resulted in a job in Zurich where I met my beautiful French husband, with whom I currently share four amazing children. It was a total sliding doors moment. That kind stranger set me on a different course in life, and I’m forever grateful.

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

From cheering you up to transforming your future, we want to hear about random meetings that have left a lasting impression.

Please share your story if you are 18 or over, keeping your details private if you choose. What you share are secure, and are solely for the aim of this article.