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During the final years of the 1980s, I set out on a budget travel adventure to Europe with a companion. Since my companion was interested in pursuing a master’s degree in the Big Apple, we had arranged a 14-day stopover there on the way to London.

We reached the graduate housing, a big 10-storey building on the Manhattan's Upper West Side called International House. Once we unpacked, we made our way to the cafeteria, where we got some food, sat down, and began chatting with people eating there.

Sitting next to me was an individual of Iraqi origin enrolled in an engineering program at an Ivy League institution. He wanted to know what I my profession was, and I shared that I had recently completed my studies with a degree in science and had been conducting research with electron microscopy.

He pointed out that there was an microscopy facility at the institution – right next door to the engineering faculty, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He suggested that I consider applying for a job with them. I chuckled at the suggestion, explaining that I was about to fly to Europe and, more critically, I did not possess a US visa.

The following day I toured the city, coming back to the dining hall that night. The engineering student came up to me and told me that he had organized a discussion for me with the leader of the research team at Columbia. Given that he had taken the effort, I attended the interview – but right away told my prospective employer that I didn’t have a visa, so I was likely not a suitable candidate.

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

I held that position for 36 months. An advantage of the role was that I got no-cost classes at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to earn a postgrad program in international relations.

I lost touch with him and I can't recall his identity, but his selfless gesture altered my destiny in multiple respects. I lacked the bravery or self-belief to approach someone at an prestigious college and seek a position. Additionally, I had always wanted to study abroad, but lacked the financial means without that educational benefit.

Critically, that gig at Columbia resulted in a job in Zurich where I met my handsome spouse from France, with whom I now have a family of four kids. That encounter altered everything. That benevolent individual redirected my path in life, and I’m forever grateful.

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