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During the late 1980s, I was beginning a low-cost journey to Europe with a companion. Since my travel mate was considering starting a postgraduate program in New York, we had arranged a 14-day stopover there before heading to London.

We reached the graduate housing, a sizeable ten-floor structure on the Manhattan's Upper West Side known as International House. Once we unpacked, we went directly to the canteen, where we grabbed food, sat down, and began chatting with people eating there.

Adjacent to my seat was an Iraqi man studying engineering at a prestigious New York university. He asked me what I did for a living, and I shared that I had just graduated with a science degree and had been performing experiments using an electron microscope.

He mentioned that there was an electron microscope unit at the institution – right next door to the engineering faculty, which was how he knew about it. He proposed that I ought to seek a job with them. I dismissed the idea, saying that I was soon departing to Europe and, even more importantly, I lacked a US visa.

The next day I ventured out, coming back to the dining hall that night. The man from Iraq approached me and told me that he had organized a discussion for me with the head of the electron microscope unit at Columbia. Since he had made the arrangement, I went to the meeting – but straight off told my host that I was without a work permit, so I was likely not a suitable candidate.

In typical New York fashion – a metropolis where anything feels possible – she said: “We'll handle it. When can you start?” I never got on that flight to London.

I held that position for three years. One of the benefits was that I also received complimentary education at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to finish a master’s of international affairs.

I never saw that student again and I can't recall his identity, but his selfless gesture changed my life in so many ways. I didn't possess the courage or nerve to approach someone at an elite institution and ask for a job. Additionally, I had always wanted to study abroad, but lacked the financial means without that tuition waiver.

Critically, that job in New York led me to a position in Switzerland where I got to know my beautiful French husband, with whom I currently share four amazing children. This was a pivotal life event. That kind stranger redirected my path in life, and I’m always appreciative.

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