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During the closing decade of the 80s, I was beginning a backpacking trip to Europe with a travel partner. Since my travel mate was considering pursuing a master’s degree in the Big Apple, we had planned a 14-day stopover there before heading to London.

We got to the graduate housing, a big multi-story edifice on the Upper West Side known as International House. Once we unpacked, we went directly to the canteen, where we got some food, took a seat, and began chatting with people eating there.

Sitting next to me was an individual of Iraqi origin enrolled in an engineering program at an Ivy League institution. He wanted to know what I did for a living, and I explained that I had newly finished with a degree in science and had been working on studies involving microscopic analysis.

He pointed out that there was an electron microscope unit at the institution – close to the school of engineering, which was how he knew about it. He proposed 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 lacked a US visa.

The next day I ventured out, coming back to the dining hall that evening. The engineering student walked over to me and let me know that he had organized a discussion for me with the head of the electron microscope unit at Columbia. Since he had taken the effort, I attended the interview – but right away informed my prospective employer that I was without a work permit, so I was probably wasting her time.

As is common in NYC – a city where everything seems achievable – she responded: “We can make that happen. When can you start?” I never got on that flight to London.

I worked there for a trio of years. A perk of the job was that I was granted no-cost classes at Columbia, and I took advantage to earn a graduate degree in global studies.

We didn't cross paths after that and I can't recall his identity, but his selfless gesture changed my life in numerous aspects. I didn't possess the confidence or self-belief to reach out at an Ivy League university and seek a position. Moreover, I had consistently hoped to take classes in another country, but lacked the financial means without that educational benefit.

Critically, that gig at Columbia paved the way for a job in Zurich where I got to know my handsome spouse from France, with whom I am raising four wonderful sons and daughters. That encounter altered everything. That kind stranger redirected my path in life, and I’m always appreciative.

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