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During the late 1980s, I set out on a backpacking trip to Europe with a companion. Since my companion was exploring starting a postgraduate program in NYC, we had arranged a two-week stay there on the way to London.

We got to the postgrad residence, a sizeable multi-story edifice on the Manhattan's Upper West Side known as International House. After dropping our bags, we made our way to the dining hall, where we got some food, took a seat, and began chatting with other diners.

Adjacent to my seat was an Iraqi man pursuing an engineering degree at Columbia University. He inquired what I did for a living, and I shared that I had newly finished with a scientific background and had been working on studies with electron microscopy.

He pointed out that there was an electron microscope unit at Columbia University – adjacent to the school of engineering, which was why he was aware of it. He suggested that I consider applying for a job with them. I laughed it off, telling him that I was heading off to Europe and, more critically, I didn’t have a US visa.

A day later I toured the city, going back to the cafeteria that evening. The man from Iraq came up to me and let me know that he had organized a discussion for me with the head of the electron microscope unit at Columbia. Because he had taken the effort, I showed up for the discussion – but straight off informed my interviewer that I lacked the necessary visa, so I was unable to accept the role.

In typical New York fashion – a metropolis where everything seems achievable – she declared: “We can make that happen. When can you start?” I missed my plane to London.

I worked there for three years. A perk of the job was that I also received no-cost classes at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to earn a master’s of international affairs.

I lost touch with him and I can't recall his full name, but his remarkable generosity transformed my future in multiple respects. I didn't possess the confidence or self-belief to approach someone at an elite institution and ask for a job. Additionally, I had long dreamed to take classes in another country, but lacked the financial means without that tuition waiver.

What's more, that role at the university led me to a job in Zurich where I met my beautiful French husband, with whom I now have four amazing children. This was a pivotal life event. That kind stranger set me on a different course in life, and I’m forever grateful.

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