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During the closing decade of the 80s, I set out on a budget travel adventure to the European continent with a friend. Because my friend was interested in pursuing a master’s degree in the Big Apple, we had planned a fortnight visit there en route to London.

We got to the postgrad residence, a sizeable ten-floor structure on the Manhattan's Upper West Side known as International House. Setting down our luggage, we made our way to the dining hall, where we got some food, took a seat, and started talking to other diners.

Sitting next to me was an gentleman from Iraq pursuing an engineering degree at a prestigious New York university. He inquired what I did for a living, and I shared that I had newly finished with a degree in science and had been conducting research with electron microscopy.

He mentioned that there was an electron microscope unit at Columbia University – close to the engineering faculty, which was how he knew about it. He recommended that I ought to seek a role with them. I laughed it off, saying that I was soon departing to Europe and, more critically, I did not possess a US visa.

The following day I went out exploring, going back to the cafeteria that evening. The Iraqi student walked over to me and told me that he had organized a discussion for me with the director of the microscopy lab at Columbia. Because he had gone to the trouble, I went to the meeting – but immediately told my interviewer that I was without a work permit, so I was unable to accept the role.

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

I was employed there for three years. A perk of the job was that I got complimentary education at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to complete a graduate degree in global studies.

We didn't cross paths after that and I can't recall his identity, but his remarkable generosity altered my destiny in multiple respects. I didn't possess the confidence or self-assurance to contact anyone at an prestigious college and seek a position. And, I had long dreamed to study abroad, but could never have afforded it without that tuition waiver.

Critically, that gig at Columbia resulted in 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 kind stranger redirected my path in life, and I’m always appreciative.

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