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During the late 1980s, I set out on a backpacking trip to the European continent with a companion. Since my companion was interested in starting a postgraduate program in New York, we had arranged a fortnight visit there on the way to London.

We got to the postgrad residence, a big multi-story edifice on the Manhattan's Upper West Side called International House. After dropping our bags, we headed straight to the cafeteria, where we got some food, sat down, and engaged in conversation with other diners.

Adjacent to my seat was an Iraqi man enrolled in an engineering program at a prestigious New York university. He wanted to know what I did for a living, and I told him that I had recently completed my studies with a degree in science and had been working on studies using an electron microscope.

He noted that there was an electron microscope unit at the university – adjacent to the school of engineering, which was why he was aware of it. He recommended 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 didn’t have a US visa.

A day later I went out exploring, going back to the cafeteria that after dark. The man from Iraq came up to me and let me know that he had set up a meeting for me with the head of the electron microscope unit at Columbia. Since he had made the arrangement, I attended the interview – but immediately explained to my interviewer that I didn’t have a visa, so I was unable to accept the role.

As is common in NYC – a city where opportunities abound – she declared: “That can be arranged. How soon can you begin?” I didn't board the aircraft to London.

I held that position for a trio of years. A perk of the job was that I got no-cost classes at Columbia, and I seized the chance to complete a master’s of international affairs.

I never saw that student again and I don’t even know his identity, but his incredible act of kindness transformed my future in multiple respects. I would never have had the confidence or self-assurance to reach out at an elite institution and request employment. And, I had consistently hoped to take classes in another country, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that tuition waiver.

Perhaps most importantly, that role at the university paved the way for a role in Europe where I encountered my beautiful French husband, with whom I currently share four amazing children. That encounter altered everything. That helpful person redirected my path in life, and I’m forever grateful.

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