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In the closing decade of the 80s, I was beginning a budget travel adventure to the European continent with a friend. Because my travel mate was considering enrolling in graduate studies in NYC, we had planned a fortnight visit there on the way to London.

We got to the postgrad residence, a large multi-story edifice on the UWS known as International House. After dropping our bags, we made our way to the dining hall, where we got some food, took a seat, and started talking to people eating there.

Beside me was an Iraqi man pursuing an engineering degree at a prestigious New York university. He asked me what I did for a living, and I told him that I had just graduated with a scientific background and had been performing experiments using an electron microscope.

He noted that there was an microscopy facility at Columbia University – right next door to the engineering faculty, which was how he knew about it. He suggested that I should apply for a position with them. I dismissed the idea, telling him that I was about to fly to Europe and, even more importantly, I lacked a US visa.

A day later I went out exploring, coming back to the dining hall that evening. The man from Iraq came up to me and told me that he had organized a discussion for me with the leader of the research team at Columbia. Because he had gone to the trouble, I went to the meeting – but right away told my prospective employer that I was without a work permit, so I was unable to accept the role.

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

I worked there for 36 months. A perk of the job was that I was granted no-cost classes at Columbia, and I seized the chance to earn a master’s of international affairs.

We didn't cross paths after that and I don’t even know his identity, but his selfless gesture transformed my future in numerous aspects. I lacked the bravery or self-assurance to approach someone at an prestigious college and seek a position. And, I had consistently hoped to study abroad, but could never have afforded it without that free tuition.

Critically, that role at the university paved the way for a job in Zurich where I encountered my handsome spouse from France, with whom I now have four wonderful sons and daughters. This was a pivotal life event. That kind stranger set me on a different course in life, and I’m forever grateful.

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