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During the closing decade of the 80s, I was embarking on a budget travel adventure to Europe with a travel partner. Because my companion was considering starting a postgraduate program in NYC, we had arranged a 14-day stopover there before heading to London.

We arrived at the postgrad residence, a big 10-storey building on the UWS called International House. Once we unpacked, we made our way to the cafeteria, where we picked up meals, found a table, and started talking to other diners.

Beside me was an individual of Iraqi origin pursuing an engineering degree at an Ivy League institution. He asked me what I my profession was, and I explained that I had just graduated with a scientific background and had been working on studies using an electron microscope.

He mentioned that there was an electron microscope unit at Columbia University – adjacent to the school of engineering, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He suggested that I consider applying for a role with them. I dismissed the idea, telling him that I was about to fly to Europe and, additionally, I lacked a US visa.

A day later I toured the city, coming back to the dining hall that night. The man from Iraq walked over to me and let me know that he had organized a discussion for me with the head of the electron microscope unit at Columbia. Since he had made the arrangement, I went to the meeting – but right away informed my interviewer that I didn’t have a visa, so I was probably wasting her time.

Reflecting the city's spirit – a place where everything seems achievable – she said: “That can be arranged. When can you start?” I never got on that flight to London.

I worked there for 36 months. An advantage of the role was that I got no-cost classes at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to complete a postgrad program in international relations.

We didn't cross paths after that and I don’t even know his name, but his selfless gesture altered my destiny in multiple respects. I didn't possess the courage or nerve to contact anyone at an Ivy League university and ask for a job. And, I had consistently hoped to study abroad, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that educational benefit.

Critically, that role at the university resulted in a position in Switzerland where I encountered my beautiful French husband, with whom I currently share a family of four kids. It was a total sliding doors moment. That kind stranger redirected my path in life, and I’m eternally thankful.

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