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During the final years of the 1980s, I was embarking on a low-cost journey to Europe with a travel partner. Since my companion was considering enrolling in graduate studies in NYC, we had planned a 14-day stopover there en route to London.

We reached the graduate housing, a large multi-story edifice on the UWS known as International House. Once we unpacked, we went directly to the cafeteria, where we grabbed food, found a table, and engaged in conversation with people eating there.

Sitting next to me was an Iraqi man studying engineering at a prestigious New York university. He inquired what I did, and I shared that I had recently completed my studies with a degree in science and had been conducting research involving microscopic analysis.

He pointed out that there was an electron microscope unit at Columbia University – close to the engineering faculty, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He recommended that I should apply for a job with them. I laughed it off, saying that I was soon departing to Europe and, additionally, I lacked a US visa.

The following day I toured the city, going back to the cafeteria that night. The engineering student came up to me and told me that he had organized a discussion for me with the leader of the research team at Columbia. Given that he had gone to the trouble, I went to the meeting – but immediately explained to my prospective employer that I was without a work permit, so I was likely not a suitable candidate.

In typical New York fashion – a place where everything seems achievable – she said: “We can make that happen. 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 also received free tuition at Columbia, and I took advantage to finish 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 multiple respects. I would never have had the courage or self-belief to approach someone at an Ivy League university and seek a position. And, I had long dreamed to take classes in another country, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that tuition waiver.

Perhaps most importantly, that job in New York paved the way for a job in Zurich where I got to know my handsome spouse from France, with whom I currently share four amazing children. That encounter altered everything. That helpful person changed my trajectory in life, and I’m forever grateful.

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