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During the late 1980s, I was embarking on a backpacking trip to Europe with a companion. Since my companion was interested in pursuing a master’s degree in the Big Apple, we had arranged a 14-day stopover there en route to London.

We reached the graduate housing, a sizeable 10-storey building on the Upper West Side called International House. Once we unpacked, we headed straight to the canteen, where we got some food, took a seat, and engaged in conversation with fellow residents.

Adjacent to my seat was an individual of Iraqi origin enrolled in an engineering program at a prestigious New York university. He wanted to know what I did, and I told him that I had recently completed my studies with a scientific background and had been conducting research involving microscopic analysis.

He mentioned that there was an electron microscope unit at the institution – right next door to the engineering department, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He suggested that I ought to seek a job with them. I dismissed the idea, saying that I was soon departing to Europe and, additionally, I lacked a US visa.

The next day I went out exploring, returning to the canteen that after dark. The Iraqi student approached me and told me that he had arranged an interview for me with the director of the microscopy lab at Columbia. Given that he had made the arrangement, I attended the interview – but immediately told my prospective employer that I was without a work permit, so I was probably wasting her time.

In typical New York fashion – a city where opportunities abound – she responded: “That can be arranged. How soon can you begin?” I never got on that flight to London.

I was employed there for three years. An advantage of the role was that I got complimentary education at Columbia, and I took advantage to finish a graduate degree in global studies.

I never saw that student again and I am unaware of his full name, but his remarkable generosity altered my destiny in multiple respects. I lacked the confidence or self-belief to contact anyone at an elite institution and ask for a job. And, I had consistently hoped to take classes in another country, but could never have afforded it without that educational benefit.

Critically, that job in New York resulted in a position in Switzerland where I encountered my beautiful French husband, with whom I currently share a family of four kids. That encounter altered everything. That benevolent individual set me on a different course in life, and I’m always appreciative.

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