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In the closing decade of the 80s, I set out on a budget travel adventure to Europe with a friend. Because my travel mate was interested in pursuing a master’s degree in New York, we had booked a 14-day stopover there on the way to London.

We arrived at the postgrad residence, a sizeable multi-story edifice on the UWS called International House. After dropping our bags, we went directly to the cafeteria, where we picked up meals, sat down, and began chatting with other diners.

Sitting next to me was an gentleman from Iraq studying engineering at Columbia University. He asked me what I did for a living, and I told him that I had newly finished with a scientific background and had been performing experiments with electron microscopy.

He mentioned that there was an electron microscope unit at Columbia University – close to the engineering department, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He recommended that I should apply for a position with them. I laughed it off, telling him that I was heading off to Europe and, even more importantly, I lacked a US visa.

The following day I toured the city, going back to the cafeteria that night. The engineering student approached me and let me know 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 right away explained to my interviewer that I didn’t have a visa, so I was probably wasting her time.

As is common in NYC – a city where anything feels possible – she said: “That can be arranged. How soon can you begin?” I missed my plane to London.

I held that position for a trio of years. An advantage of the role was that I was granted no-cost classes at Columbia, and I seized the chance to complete a postgrad program in international relations.

I never saw that student again and I don’t even know his name, but his selfless gesture changed my life in multiple respects. I would never have had the confidence or self-belief to reach out at an elite institution and ask for a job. Moreover, I had consistently hoped to pursue education overseas, but could never have afforded it without that free tuition.

Critically, that role at the university resulted in a job in Zurich where I encountered my handsome spouse from France, with whom I now have a family of four kids. That encounter altered everything. That kind stranger redirected my path in life, and I’m forever grateful.

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