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During the final years of the 1980s, I set out on a budget travel adventure to Europe with a travel partner. Since my companion was exploring pursuing a master’s degree in the Big Apple, we had planned a fortnight visit there before heading to London.

We reached the graduate housing, a sizeable 10-storey building on the Manhattan's Upper West Side called International House. Once we unpacked, we went directly to the cafeteria, where we grabbed food, sat down, and began chatting with people eating there.

Adjacent to my seat was an gentleman from Iraq enrolled in an engineering program at an Ivy League institution. He asked me what I did for a living, and I shared that I had just graduated with a scientific background and had been conducting research with electron microscopy.

He pointed out that there was an electron microscope unit at the university – right next door to the school of engineering, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He proposed that I ought to seek a job with them. I dismissed the idea, telling him that I was heading off to Europe and, additionally, I did not possess a US visa.

The following day I toured the city, coming back to the dining hall that evening. The Iraqi student walked over to me and informed me that he had organized a discussion for me with the leader of the research team at Columbia. Since he had gone to the trouble, I attended the interview – but straight off told my interviewer that I didn’t have a visa, so I was likely not a suitable candidate.

Reflecting the city's spirit – a metropolis where opportunities abound – she declared: “That can be arranged. How soon can you begin?” I didn't board the aircraft to London.

I was employed there for three years. A perk of the job was that I also received no-cost classes at Columbia, and I seized the chance to earn a graduate degree in global studies.

I never saw that student again and I am unaware of his full name, but his remarkable generosity altered my destiny in numerous aspects. I didn't possess the courage or self-assurance to reach out at an prestigious college and request employment. And, I had long dreamed to study abroad, but lacked the financial means without that tuition waiver.

What's more, that role at the university led me to a position in Switzerland where I encountered my beautiful French husband, with whom I now have four wonderful sons and daughters. This was a pivotal life event. That helpful person changed my trajectory in life, and I’m always appreciative.

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