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In the closing decade of the 80s, I was beginning a backpacking trip to the European continent with a travel partner. Because my travel mate was interested in enrolling in graduate studies in NYC, we had planned a two-week stay there on the way to London.

We reached the student accommodation, a big ten-floor structure on the Upper West Side called International House. After dropping our bags, we made our way to the cafeteria, where we picked up meals, sat down, and started talking to people eating there.

Beside me was an individual of Iraqi origin studying engineering at Columbia University. He inquired what I my profession was, and I explained that I had just graduated with a degree in science and had been conducting research with electron microscopy.

He noted that there was an microscopy facility at Columbia University – close to the school of engineering, which was how he knew about it. He proposed that I ought to seek a job with them. I chuckled at the suggestion, telling him that I was soon departing to Europe and, additionally, I didn’t have a US visa.

A day later I went out exploring, coming back to the dining hall that night. The man from Iraq 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 made the arrangement, I attended the interview – but immediately informed my interviewer that I didn’t have a visa, so I was unable to accept the role.

As is common in NYC – a place where opportunities abound – she declared: “That can be arranged. How soon can you begin?” I never got on that flight to London.

I was employed there for 36 months. One of the benefits was that I got no-cost classes at Columbia, and I took advantage to finish a master’s of international affairs.

I lost touch with him and I can't recall his identity, but his incredible act of kindness transformed my future in multiple respects. I lacked the confidence or self-belief to approach someone at an elite institution and ask for a job. Additionally, I had consistently hoped to study abroad, but could never have afforded it without that free tuition.

What's more, that gig at Columbia led me to a role in Europe where I encountered my handsome spouse from France, with whom I now have a family of four kids. That encounter altered everything. That helpful person set me on a different course in life, and I’m forever grateful.

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