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During the final years of the 1980s, I was beginning a backpacking trip to the European continent with a travel partner. Since my companion was interested in starting a postgraduate program in NYC, we had arranged a 14-day stopover there on the way to London.

We reached the graduate housing, a sizeable 10-storey building on the UWS known as International House. Setting down our luggage, we made our way to the cafeteria, where we picked up meals, sat down, and engaged in conversation with people eating there.

Sitting next to me was an Iraqi man enrolled in an engineering program at a prestigious New York university. He wanted to know what I my profession was, and I shared that I had newly finished with a science degree and had been performing experiments using an electron microscope.

He pointed out that there was an research lab at the institution – adjacent to the school of engineering, which was how he knew about it. He proposed that I ought to seek a job with them. I laughed it off, explaining that I was about to fly to Europe and, even more importantly, I lacked a US visa.

The following day I went out exploring, going back to the cafeteria that evening. The Iraqi student came up to me and told me that he had organized a discussion for me with the head of the electron microscope unit at Columbia. Given that he had gone to the trouble, I showed up for the discussion – but right away told my host that I didn’t have a visa, so I was probably wasting her time.

Reflecting the city's spirit – a place where opportunities abound – she responded: “We'll handle it. How soon can you begin?” I missed my plane to London.

I was employed there for 36 months. A perk of the job was that I also received no-cost classes at Columbia, and I seized the chance to complete a graduate degree in global studies.

I lost touch with him and I don’t even know his identity, but his incredible act of kindness transformed my future in numerous aspects. I lacked the bravery or self-belief to contact anyone at an prestigious college and ask for a job. Moreover, I had consistently hoped to take classes in another country, but lacked the financial means without that free tuition.

What's more, that gig at Columbia resulted in a position in Switzerland where I met my wonderful partner, with whom I am raising four wonderful sons and daughters. It was a total sliding doors moment. That helpful person set me on a different course in life, and I’m eternally thankful.

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