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In the closing decade of the 80s, I was beginning a backpacking trip to Europe with a companion. Since my companion was considering starting a postgraduate program in NYC, we had booked a 14-day stopover there before heading to London.

We got to the graduate housing, a big 10-storey building on the Manhattan's Upper West Side named International House. Once we unpacked, we went directly to the dining hall, where we picked up meals, sat down, and began chatting with other diners.

Beside me was an individual of Iraqi origin enrolled in an engineering program at Columbia University. He wanted to know what I did for a living, and I shared that I had recently completed my studies with a degree in science and had been conducting research with electron microscopy.

He mentioned that there was an microscopy facility at Columbia University – close to the engineering faculty, which was why he was aware of it. He proposed that I consider applying for a position with them. I laughed it off, explaining that I was about to fly to Europe and, additionally, I did not possess a US visa.

The next day I toured the city, going back to the cafeteria that after dark. The Iraqi student came up to me and let me know that he had arranged an interview for me with the director of the microscopy lab at Columbia. Since he had gone to the trouble, I went to the meeting – but straight off told my prospective employer that I didn’t have a visa, so I was likely not a suitable candidate.

Reflecting the city's spirit – a metropolis where everything seems achievable – she responded: “That can be arranged. When can you start?” I missed my plane to London.

I held that position for 36 months. A perk of the job was that I also received complimentary education at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to complete a postgrad program in international relations.

I never saw that student again and I can't recall his full name, but his incredible act of kindness altered my destiny in so many ways. I didn't possess the courage or nerve to contact anyone at an elite institution and ask for a job. Moreover, I had long dreamed to study abroad, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that educational benefit.

Critically, that gig at Columbia resulted in a job in Zurich where I encountered my beautiful French husband, with whom I currently share a family of four kids. That encounter altered everything. That kind stranger set me on a different course in life, and I’m always appreciative.

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