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In the late 1980s, I was embarking on a backpacking trip to the European continent with a friend. Because my companion was exploring enrolling in graduate studies in the Big Apple, we had arranged a 14-day stopover there en route to London.

We reached the student accommodation, a big ten-floor structure on the Upper West Side known as International House. Setting down our luggage, we went directly to the cafeteria, where we grabbed food, took a seat, and engaged in conversation with other diners.

Beside me was an Iraqi man pursuing an engineering degree at a prestigious New York university. He inquired what I did, and I told him that I had recently completed my studies with a degree in science and had been conducting research using an electron microscope.

He pointed out that there was an microscopy facility at the institution – adjacent to the engineering department, which was why he was aware of it. He proposed that I consider applying for a role with them. I chuckled at the suggestion, telling him that I was soon departing to Europe and, more critically, I didn’t have a US visa.

A day later I toured the city, returning to the canteen that evening. The man from Iraq walked over to me and told me that he had set up a meeting for me with the head of the electron microscope unit at Columbia. Since he had gone to the trouble, I showed up for the discussion – but straight off informed my prospective employer that I didn’t have a visa, so I was unable to accept the role.

In typical New York fashion – a place where opportunities abound – she responded: “We'll handle it. How soon can you begin?” I never got on that flight to London.

I worked there for three years. A perk of the job was that I was granted free tuition at Columbia, and I seized the chance to earn a master’s of international affairs.

I lost touch with him and I can't recall his name, but his remarkable generosity changed my life in numerous aspects. I didn't possess the confidence or self-belief to approach someone at an prestigious college and ask for a job. Moreover, I had long dreamed to study abroad, but could never have afforded it without that educational benefit.

Critically, that role at the university resulted in a role in Europe where I got to know my beautiful French husband, with whom I now have a family of four kids. This was a pivotal life event. That benevolent individual changed my trajectory in life, and I’m eternally thankful.

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