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During the final years of the 1980s, I was beginning a budget travel adventure to Europe with a travel partner. Because my friend was considering starting a postgraduate program in the Big Apple, we had booked a two-week stay there en route to London.

We reached the postgrad residence, a big 10-storey building on the UWS known as International House. Setting down our luggage, we headed straight to the cafeteria, where we picked up meals, sat down, and began chatting with other diners.

Sitting next to me was an Iraqi man pursuing an engineering degree at a prestigious New York university. He asked me what I did, and I explained that I had recently completed my studies with a degree in science and had been conducting research using an electron microscope.

He mentioned that there was an electron microscope unit at the institution – close to the school of engineering, which was how he knew about it. He suggested that I should apply for a role with them. I chuckled at the suggestion, telling him that I was about to fly to Europe and, more critically, I lacked a US visa.

A day later I went out exploring, coming back to the dining hall that after dark. The Iraqi student walked over to me and informed me that he had arranged an interview for me with the head of the electron microscope unit at Columbia. Given that he had gone to the trouble, I showed up for the discussion – but straight off informed my prospective employer that I was without a work permit, so I was probably wasting her time.

In typical New York fashion – a place where anything feels possible – she responded: “That can be arranged. When can you start?” I didn't board the aircraft to London.

I worked there for a trio of years. An advantage of the role was that I also received complimentary education at Columbia, and I took advantage to complete a postgrad program in international relations.

We didn't cross paths after that and I don’t even know his identity, but his remarkable generosity changed my life in so many ways. I would never have had the courage or self-assurance to contact anyone at an elite institution and ask for a job. And, I had consistently hoped to pursue education overseas, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that tuition waiver.

Perhaps most importantly, that role at the university resulted in a role in Europe where I encountered my handsome spouse from France, with whom I now have four amazing children. This was a pivotal life event. That helpful person redirected my path in life, and I’m eternally thankful.

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

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