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During the final years of the 1980s, I set out on a budget travel adventure to the European continent with a companion. Since my companion was considering enrolling in graduate studies in NYC, we had booked a 14-day stopover there before heading to London.

We arrived at the student accommodation, a big multi-story edifice on the Manhattan's Upper West Side named International House. Setting down our luggage, we made our way to the cafeteria, where we got some food, sat down, and began chatting with people eating there.

Adjacent to my seat was an gentleman from Iraq pursuing an engineering degree at a prestigious New York university. He wanted to know what I my profession was, and I explained that I had newly finished with a science degree and had been performing experiments involving microscopic analysis.

He mentioned that there was an research lab at the institution – close to the engineering faculty, which was how he knew about it. He suggested that I should apply for a role with them. I dismissed the idea, saying that I was heading off to Europe and, additionally, I didn’t have a US visa.

A day later I ventured out, going back to the cafeteria that after dark. The man from Iraq approached me and told me that he had set up a meeting for me with the director of the microscopy lab at Columbia. Given that he had taken the effort, I showed up for the discussion – but right away informed my host that I lacked the necessary visa, so I was probably wasting her time.

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

I was employed there for a trio of years. 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.

We didn't cross paths after that and I can't recall his full name, but his selfless gesture changed my life in multiple respects. I would never have had the courage or self-belief to approach someone at an elite institution and ask for a job. Moreover, I had long dreamed 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 resulted in a job in Zurich where I got to know my beautiful French husband, with whom I currently share a family of four kids. This was a pivotal life event. That kind stranger changed my trajectory in life, and I’m eternally thankful.

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