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During the final years of the 1980s, I was beginning a low-cost journey to the European continent with a friend. Because my friend was considering pursuing a master’s degree in the Big Apple, we had planned a 14-day stopover there en route to London.

We reached the graduate housing, a large ten-floor structure on the Manhattan's Upper West Side called International House. After dropping our bags, we made our way to the canteen, where we got some food, took a seat, and engaged in conversation with fellow residents.

Adjacent to my seat was an Iraqi man studying engineering at Columbia University. He asked me what I did, and I told him that I had recently completed my studies with a degree in science and had been working on studies involving microscopic analysis.

He mentioned that there was an research lab at Columbia University – right next door to the school of engineering, which was how he knew about it. He recommended that I consider applying for a job with them. I laughed it off, saying that I was about to fly to Europe and, additionally, I didn’t have a US visa.

The next day I toured the city, returning to the canteen that after dark. The man from Iraq came up to me and told me that he had arranged an interview for me with the head of the electron microscope unit at Columbia. Because he had taken the effort, I attended the interview – but right away explained to my prospective employer that I lacked the necessary visa, so I was probably wasting her time.

As is common in NYC – a place where anything feels possible – she responded: “That can be arranged. What's your start date?” I missed my plane to London.

I worked there for a trio of years. One of the benefits was that I got free tuition at Columbia, and I took advantage to complete a postgrad program in international relations.

I lost touch with him and I can't recall his identity, but his remarkable generosity changed my life in so many ways. I would never have had the confidence or self-belief to approach someone at an Ivy League university and ask for a job. Moreover, I had always wanted to pursue education overseas, but could never have afforded it without that tuition waiver.

What's more, that gig at Columbia resulted in a job in Zurich where I encountered my handsome spouse from France, with whom I currently share four wonderful sons and daughters. This was a pivotal life event. That helpful person redirected my path in life, and I’m forever grateful.

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