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During the final years of the 1980s, I set out on a backpacking trip to Europe with a friend. Because my travel mate was considering starting a postgraduate program in the Big Apple, we had booked a 14-day stopover there en route to London.

We got to the postgrad residence, a sizeable multi-story edifice on the Upper West Side known as International House. Once we unpacked, we made our way to the dining hall, where we grabbed food, took a seat, and started talking to fellow residents.

Beside me was an individual of Iraqi origin enrolled in an engineering program at Columbia University. He asked me what I did, and I shared that I had newly finished with a degree in science and had been performing experiments using an electron microscope.

He noted that there was an research lab at the university – close to the engineering faculty, which was how he knew about it. He recommended that I consider applying for a position with them. I chuckled at the suggestion, telling him that I was about to fly to Europe and, even more importantly, I didn’t have a US visa.

The following day I toured the city, returning to the canteen that evening. The man from Iraq came up to me and let me know that he had arranged an interview for me with the head of the electron microscope unit at Columbia. Because he had gone to the trouble, I attended the interview – but right away informed my prospective employer that I didn’t have a visa, so I was likely not a suitable candidate.

As is common in NYC – a place where anything feels possible – she said: “We'll handle it. What's your start date?” I never got on that flight to London.

I worked there for a trio of years. A perk of the job was that I also received free tuition at Columbia, and I took advantage to earn a master’s of international affairs.

I lost touch with him and I am unaware of his identity, but his remarkable generosity changed my life in numerous aspects. I would never have had the confidence or nerve to contact anyone at an prestigious college and ask for a job. Additionally, I had long dreamed to take classes in another country, but lacked the financial means without that educational benefit.

What's more, that role at the university paved the way for a position in Switzerland where I encountered my wonderful partner, with whom I am raising a family of four kids. That encounter altered everything. That kind stranger changed my trajectory in life, and I’m forever grateful.

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