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In the final years of the 1980s, I was beginning a backpacking trip to the European continent with a travel partner. Because my friend was interested in pursuing a master’s degree in NYC, we had planned a 14-day stopover there en route to London.

We reached the student accommodation, a sizeable ten-floor structure on the Manhattan's Upper West Side named International House. Setting down our luggage, we made our way to the cafeteria, where we got some food, took a seat, and started talking to other diners.

Beside me was an Iraqi man pursuing an engineering degree at Columbia University. He inquired what I did for a living, and I shared that I had recently completed my studies with a scientific background and had been performing experiments using an electron microscope.

He noted that there was an research lab at the institution – close to the engineering faculty, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He proposed that I ought to seek a position with them. I dismissed the idea, saying that I was about to fly to Europe and, additionally, I lacked a US visa.

The next day I toured the city, returning to the canteen that evening. The man from Iraq approached me and informed me that he had set up a meeting for me with the director of the microscopy lab at Columbia. Given that he had gone to the trouble, I showed up for the discussion – but straight off told my host that I didn’t have a visa, so I was probably wasting her time.

As is common in NYC – a place where everything seems achievable – she said: “We'll handle it. What's your start date?” I missed my plane to London.

I worked there for a trio of years. An advantage of the role was that I got no-cost classes at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to earn a postgrad program in international relations.

I never saw that student again and I am unaware of his name, but his remarkable generosity altered my destiny in numerous aspects. I lacked the courage or self-belief to reach out at an prestigious college and request employment. Moreover, I had long dreamed to study abroad, but lacked the financial means without that tuition waiver.

Perhaps most importantly, that job in New York led me to a job in Zurich where I encountered my beautiful French husband, with whom I now have a family of four kids. This was a pivotal life event. That helpful person redirected my path in life, and I’m forever grateful.

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