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In the late 1980s, I was beginning a budget travel adventure to Europe with a friend. Since my companion was interested in starting a postgraduate program in the Big Apple, we had arranged a two-week stay there on the way to London.

We got to the graduate housing, a big ten-floor structure on the Manhattan's Upper West Side named International House. After dropping our bags, we headed straight to the canteen, where we picked up meals, sat down, and engaged in conversation with other diners.

Adjacent to my seat was an gentleman from Iraq enrolled in an engineering program at an Ivy League institution. He wanted to know what I did for a living, and I shared that I had recently completed my studies 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 Columbia University – adjacent to the engineering department, which was why he was aware of it. He recommended that I consider applying for a role with them. I laughed it off, saying that I was soon departing to Europe and, additionally, I lacked a US visa.

The next day I went out exploring, coming back to the dining hall that evening. The man from Iraq walked over to me and let me know that he had organized a discussion 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 interviewer that I was without a work permit, so I was unable to accept the role.

In typical New York fashion – a metropolis where anything feels possible – she said: “We can make that happen. How soon can you begin?” I didn't board the aircraft to London.

I was employed there for 36 months. 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 don’t even know his full name, but his selfless gesture changed my life in so many ways. I would never have had the bravery or self-belief to reach out at an elite institution and ask for a job. Additionally, I had consistently hoped to pursue education overseas, but lacked the financial means without that tuition waiver.

Critically, that role at the university led me to a job in Zurich where I got to know my wonderful partner, with whom I currently share a family of four kids. This was a pivotal life event. That helpful person redirected my path in life, and I’m always appreciative.

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