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In the final years of the 1980s, I was embarking on a low-cost journey to Europe with a travel partner. Since my friend was interested in starting a postgraduate program in New York, we had booked a 14-day stopover there en route to London.

We got to the student accommodation, a large 10-storey building on the UWS named International House. After dropping our bags, we headed straight to the dining hall, where we got some food, took a seat, and engaged in conversation with people eating there.

Beside me was an individual of Iraqi origin pursuing an engineering degree at a prestigious New York university. He wanted to know what I did for a living, and I shared that I had just graduated with a scientific background and had been working on studies using an electron microscope.

He noted that there was an microscopy facility at Columbia University – adjacent to the school of engineering, which was how he knew about it. He proposed that I ought to seek a role with them. I dismissed the idea, telling him that I was soon departing to Europe and, more critically, I lacked a US visa.

A day later I toured the city, returning to the canteen that after dark. The Iraqi student walked over to me and let me know that he had arranged an interview for me with the director of the microscopy lab at Columbia. Given that he had taken the effort, I showed up for the discussion – but immediately told my interviewer that I didn’t have a visa, so I was likely not a suitable candidate.

In typical New York fashion – a metropolis where opportunities abound – she said: “We can make that happen. When can you start?” I didn't board the aircraft to London.

I held that position for 36 months. One of the benefits was that I also received free tuition at Columbia, and I took advantage to earn a graduate degree in global studies.

I never saw that student again and I don’t even know his full name, but his selfless gesture changed my life in so many ways. I didn't possess the courage or self-assurance to reach out at an Ivy League university and seek a position. Additionally, I had always wanted to take classes in another country, but could never have afforded it without that free tuition.

What's more, that gig at Columbia resulted in a job in Zurich where I got to know my beautiful French husband, with whom I now have four wonderful sons and daughters. This was a pivotal life event. That benevolent individual redirected my path in life, and I’m eternally thankful.

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