An Account of Unexpected Generosity: When a University Student Allowed Me to Sleep on Her Dormitory Ground

Back in 2006, I made a trip to Canberra for an admissions interview for medical school. My plan was I would book a place to stay upon arrival, but once I got there, a large conference was in town and all the backpackers hostels and cheap hotels had no vacancies.

Hailing from the city-state of Singapore, I considered perhaps I could bed down in the terminal – but quickly found the local airport, in contrast to Changi Airport, is not open 24 hours. Not knowing how to proceed and feeling increasingly desperate, I caught a bus into town and started wandering in the direction of the casino, reasoning it was a place to spend the night in a place operating 24/7. Admittedly, this plan in the ideal condition to succeed at a crucial interview the next day, but as a cash-strapped student, a pricey hotel was out of reach.

We could all use more individuals like that woman.

I must have looked lost as a woman saw me walking aimlessly through the city and inquired if everything was alright. I shared my situation and immediately she suggested I was welcome to sleep on a spare mattress at her university residence at the Australian National University – an ideal turn of events, as that’s where my interview was the following day. She went further by offering a meal: one of the stuffed baguettes she had from her evening job. I had access to a hot shower and somewhere safe to rest to sleep.

In retrospect, I now understand what a big chance she undertook as a young woman inviting a guy she had only just encountered crash at her place. At that time I was in a bubble of male privilege and did not consider about things like that. Now, as a father, I’m amazed she took that chance – yet incredibly thankful.

I didn’t end up attending ANU, and I didn’t meet the student afterwards, yet her memory has stayed with me her selfless deed of kindness. I hope life has repaid her generosity tenfold. The world needs more individuals who show such kindness.