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During the late 1980s, I was embarking on a low-cost journey to the European continent with a companion. Since my friend was considering pursuing a master’s degree in NYC, we had arranged a two-week stay there on the way to London.

We reached the postgrad residence, a large ten-floor structure on the Manhattan's Upper West Side named International House. Once we unpacked, we went directly to the dining hall, where we got some food, found a table, and engaged in conversation with people eating there.

Adjacent to my seat was an gentleman from Iraq studying engineering at an Ivy League institution. He wanted to know what I did for a living, and I told him that I had recently completed my studies with a science degree and had been working on studies using an electron microscope.

He mentioned that there was an electron microscope unit at Columbia University – close to the school of engineering, which was how he knew about it. He suggested that I consider applying for a job with them. I chuckled at the suggestion, explaining that I was soon departing to Europe and, even more importantly, I lacked a US visa.

The following day I toured the city, returning to the canteen that evening. The engineering student approached me and let me know that he had set up a meeting for me with the leader of the research team at Columbia. Since he had gone to the trouble, I showed up for the discussion – but right away informed my interviewer that I was without a work permit, so I was probably wasting her time.

Reflecting the city's spirit – a place where everything seems achievable – she declared: “We'll handle it. What's your start date?” I didn't board the aircraft to London.

I worked there for 36 months. A perk of the job was that I was granted free tuition at Columbia, and I took advantage to earn a postgrad program in international relations.

I never saw that student again and I am unaware of his name, but his remarkable generosity altered my destiny in so many ways. I didn't possess the confidence or nerve to approach someone at an prestigious college and ask for a job. Additionally, I had long dreamed to study abroad, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that educational benefit.

Critically, that role at the university led me to a job in Zurich where I got to know my handsome spouse from France, with whom I now have four wonderful sons and daughters. This was a pivotal life event. That kind stranger set me on a different course in life, and I’m eternally thankful.

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