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During the late 1980s, I was beginning a backpacking trip to the European continent with a travel partner. Because my friend was considering pursuing a master’s degree in the Big Apple, we had planned a 14-day stopover there en route to London.

We reached the postgrad residence, a large multi-story edifice on the UWS known as International House. Setting down our luggage, we made our way to the dining hall, where we grabbed food, found a table, and started talking to other diners.

Beside me was an gentleman from Iraq studying engineering at a prestigious New York university. He wanted to know what I did for a living, and I told him that I had newly finished with a scientific background and had been working on studies using an electron microscope.

He mentioned that there was an research lab at Columbia University – right next door to the school of engineering, which was how he knew about it. He suggested that I ought to seek a job with them. I dismissed the idea, saying that I was heading off to Europe and, more critically, I didn’t have a US visa.

The following day I toured the city, returning to the canteen that evening. The man from Iraq came up to me and let me know that he had set up a meeting for me with the director of the microscopy lab at Columbia. Given that he had gone to the trouble, I went to the meeting – but right away told my interviewer that I was without a work permit, so I was probably wasting her time.

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

I worked there for three years. One of the benefits was that I was granted complimentary education at Columbia, and I seized the chance to complete a graduate degree in global studies.

I never saw that student again and I don’t even know his name, but his incredible act of kindness changed my life in numerous aspects. I would never have had the bravery or nerve to contact anyone at an Ivy League university and request employment. Moreover, I had always wanted to take classes in another country, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that free tuition.

What's more, that job in New York paved the way for a job in Zurich where I encountered my handsome spouse from France, with whom I am raising four amazing children. This was a pivotal life event. That benevolent individual changed my trajectory in life, and I’m forever grateful.

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