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In the final years of the 1980s, I was embarking on a budget travel adventure to Europe with a travel partner. Since my companion was exploring pursuing a master’s degree in the Big Apple, we had planned a 14-day stopover there en route to London.

We got to the graduate housing, a sizeable 10-storey building on the Upper West Side named International House. Once we unpacked, we went directly to the dining hall, where we grabbed food, found a table, and started talking to other diners.

Adjacent to my seat was an individual of Iraqi origin enrolled in an engineering program at an Ivy League institution. He wanted to know what I my profession was, and I shared that I had newly finished with a scientific background and had been conducting research with electron microscopy.

He noted that there was an research lab at the university – close to the engineering department, which was why he was aware of it. He suggested that I should apply for a position with them. I laughed it off, explaining that I was heading off to Europe and, additionally, I didn’t have a US visa.

The following day I ventured out, going back to the cafeteria that evening. The engineering student approached me and told me that he had organized a discussion for me with the director of the microscopy lab at Columbia. Because he had made the arrangement, I attended the interview – but straight off told my host that I was without a work permit, so I was probably wasting her time.

In typical New York fashion – a metropolis where everything seems achievable – she declared: “That can be arranged. How soon can you begin?” I never got on that flight to London.

I held that position for 36 months. A perk of the job was that I was granted free tuition at Columbia, and I seized the chance to finish a postgrad program in international relations.

I never saw that student again and I can't recall his identity, but his remarkable generosity transformed my future in so many ways. I would never have had the confidence or nerve to contact anyone at an elite institution and ask for a job. Additionally, I had consistently hoped to pursue education overseas, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that free tuition.

Perhaps most importantly, that job in New York resulted in a job in Zurich where I got to know my handsome spouse from France, with whom I am raising four wonderful sons and daughters. That encounter altered everything. That benevolent individual redirected my path in life, and I’m eternally thankful.

What is the Nicest Thing a Stranger Has Shown for You?

Whether it's brightening your mood to altering your path, we are interested in unexpected interactions that have remained in your memory.

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