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In the final years of the 1980s, I set out on a backpacking trip to Europe with a travel partner. Since my companion was exploring enrolling in graduate studies in NYC, we had booked a two-week stay there before heading to London.

We arrived at the student accommodation, a sizeable 10-storey building on the Manhattan's Upper West Side named International House. After dropping our bags, we went directly to the dining hall, where we grabbed food, found a table, and began chatting with other diners.

Sitting next to me was an individual of Iraqi origin studying engineering at an Ivy League institution. He asked me what I did, and I shared that I had just graduated with a science degree and had been conducting research with electron microscopy.

He mentioned that there was an microscopy facility at Columbia University – right next door to the school of engineering, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He proposed that I should apply for a position with them. I chuckled at the suggestion, telling him that I was heading off to Europe and, even more importantly, I did not possess a US visa.

The following day I toured the city, going back to the cafeteria that after dark. The engineering student walked over to me and let me know that he had set up a meeting for me with the leader of the research team at Columbia. Because he had taken the effort, I went to the meeting – but right away informed my host that I lacked the necessary visa, so I was probably wasting her time.

In typical New York fashion – a city where everything seems achievable – she said: “We can make that happen. How soon can you begin?” I didn't board the aircraft to London.

I was employed there for three years. A perk of the job was that I was granted no-cost classes at Columbia, and I seized the chance to finish a postgrad program in international relations.

I lost touch with him and I am unaware of his name, but his remarkable generosity transformed my future in multiple respects. I lacked the confidence or nerve to reach out at an Ivy League university and seek a position. Moreover, I had consistently hoped to pursue education overseas, but could never have afforded it without that tuition waiver.

Critically, that job in New York resulted in a job in Zurich where I encountered my handsome spouse from France, with whom I am raising four amazing children. It was a total sliding doors moment. That kind stranger changed my trajectory in life, and I’m eternally thankful.

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