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In the final years of the 1980s, I set out on a low-cost journey to the European continent with a travel partner. Because my travel mate was interested in enrolling in graduate studies in NYC, we had arranged a 14-day stopover there on the way to London.

We reached the graduate housing, a big ten-floor structure on the Manhattan's Upper West Side called International House. After dropping our bags, we went directly to the canteen, where we got some food, took a seat, and engaged in conversation with people eating there.

Beside me was an Iraqi man enrolled in an engineering program at an Ivy League institution. He wanted to know what I did for a living, and I explained that I had newly finished with a scientific background and had been performing experiments involving microscopic analysis.

He noted that there was an electron microscope unit at the university – adjacent to the engineering faculty, which was how he knew about it. He recommended that I consider applying for a position with them. I dismissed the idea, explaining that I was heading off to Europe and, additionally, I lacked a US visa.

The next day I went out exploring, going back to the cafeteria that evening. The man from Iraq came up to me and let me know that he had arranged an interview for me with the director of the microscopy lab at Columbia. Because he had made the arrangement, I went to the meeting – but right away explained to my host that I was without a work permit, so I was likely not a suitable candidate.

As is common in NYC – a metropolis where anything feels possible – she responded: “We'll handle it. What's your start date?” I missed my plane to London.

I held that position for 36 months. One of the benefits was that I was granted free tuition at Columbia, and I took advantage to earn a graduate degree in global studies.

I never saw that student again and I can't recall his full name, but his selfless gesture changed my life in so many ways. I lacked the courage or self-belief to approach someone at an prestigious college and request employment. Moreover, I had consistently hoped to pursue education overseas, but lacked the financial means without that educational benefit.

What's more, that role at the university resulted in a job in Zurich where I got to know my handsome spouse from France, with whom I am raising a family of four kids. That encounter altered everything. That kind stranger changed my trajectory in life, and I’m forever grateful.

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