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During the final years of the 1980s, I was embarking on a budget travel adventure to the European continent with a companion. Because my travel mate was exploring starting a postgraduate program in New York, we had arranged a 14-day stopover there en route to London.

We got to the graduate housing, a large multi-story edifice on the Manhattan's Upper West Side known as International House. Once we unpacked, we went directly to the canteen, where we grabbed food, found a table, and started talking to other diners.

Beside me was an Iraqi man enrolled in an engineering program at an Ivy League institution. He inquired what I did for a living, and I explained that I had newly finished with a science degree and had been performing experiments with electron microscopy.

He pointed out that there was an research lab at the institution – adjacent to the school of engineering, which was why he was aware of it. He recommended that I ought to seek a position with them. I laughed it off, telling him that I was heading off to Europe and, more critically, I did not possess a US visa.

The next day I ventured out, going back to the cafeteria that night. The engineering student walked over to me and let me know that he had arranged an interview for me with the director of the microscopy lab at Columbia. Given that he had made the arrangement, I showed up for the discussion – but immediately told my interviewer that I didn’t have a visa, so I was unable to accept the role.

Reflecting the city's spirit – a metropolis where anything feels possible – she declared: “That can be arranged. How soon can you begin?” I didn't board the aircraft to London.

I held that position for three years. One of the benefits was that I got free tuition at Columbia, and I took advantage to finish a master’s of international affairs.

We didn't cross paths after that and I am unaware of his full name, but his remarkable generosity transformed my future in multiple respects. I would never have had the bravery or self-assurance to contact anyone at an prestigious college and request employment. And, I had long dreamed to pursue education overseas, but lacked the financial means without that tuition waiver.

Critically, that role at the university paved the way for a position in Switzerland where I got to know my beautiful French husband, with whom I am raising four amazing children. That encounter altered everything. That kind stranger set me on a different course in life, and I’m eternally thankful.

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