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In the closing decade of the 80s, I was beginning a budget travel adventure to the European continent with a travel partner. Because my travel mate was considering starting a postgraduate program in New York, we had booked a two-week stay there before heading to London.

We got to the graduate housing, a big 10-storey building on the Upper West Side called International House. After dropping our bags, we went directly to the dining hall, where we grabbed food, took a seat, and started talking to people eating there.

Beside me was an Iraqi man pursuing an engineering degree at an Ivy League institution. He wanted to know what I my profession was, and I told him that I had recently completed my studies with a degree in science and had been conducting research with electron microscopy.

He pointed out that there was an research lab at the institution – close to the engineering faculty, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He recommended that I should apply for a job with them. I laughed it off, explaining that I was soon departing to Europe and, even more importantly, I didn’t have a US visa.

The following day I toured the city, coming back to the dining hall that evening. The man from Iraq approached me and let me know that he had organized a discussion for me with the leader of the research team at Columbia. Since he had taken the effort, I went to the meeting – but immediately informed my prospective employer that I lacked the necessary visa, so I was likely not a suitable candidate.

Reflecting the city's spirit – a metropolis where opportunities abound – she declared: “We'll handle it. When can you start?” I didn't board the aircraft to London.

I worked there for three years. A perk of the job was that I also received complimentary education at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to complete a master’s of international affairs.

I never saw that student again and I don’t even know his name, but his remarkable generosity transformed my future in so many ways. I lacked the courage or self-belief to contact anyone at an elite institution and seek a position. Additionally, I had consistently hoped to take classes in another country, but could never have afforded it without that free tuition.

What's more, that job in New York paved the way for a position in Switzerland where I got to know my wonderful partner, with whom I now have four wonderful sons and daughters. That encounter altered everything. That benevolent individual set me on a different course in life, and I’m eternally thankful.

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