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During the late 1980s, I was beginning a backpacking trip to the European continent with a friend. Because my companion was interested in starting a postgraduate program in NYC, we had planned a two-week stay there en route to London.

We reached the student accommodation, a big ten-floor structure on the UWS called International House. Once we unpacked, we made our way to the dining hall, where we got some food, sat down, and began chatting with fellow residents.

Sitting next to me was an individual of Iraqi origin studying engineering at Columbia University. He wanted to know what I did, and I told him that I had newly finished with a scientific background and had been working on studies involving microscopic analysis.

He mentioned that there was an research lab at the institution – adjacent to the engineering faculty, which was how he knew about it. He proposed that I ought to seek a job with them. I laughed it off, telling him that I was soon departing to Europe and, even more importantly, I lacked a US visa.

The following day I went out exploring, returning to the canteen that after dark. The man from Iraq approached me and informed me that he had arranged an interview for me with the director of the microscopy lab at Columbia. Since he had gone to the trouble, I attended the interview – but right away told my interviewer that I was without a work permit, so I was probably wasting her time.

Reflecting the city's spirit – a place where everything seems achievable – she responded: “We'll handle it. How soon can you begin?” I missed my plane to London.

I worked there for 36 months. An advantage of the role was that I was granted complimentary education at Columbia, and I seized the chance to complete a graduate degree in global studies.

I lost touch with him and I can't recall his identity, but his remarkable generosity changed my life in so many ways. I lacked the courage or nerve to reach out at an Ivy League university and ask for a job. Moreover, I had always wanted to study abroad, but could never have afforded it without that free tuition.

Perhaps most importantly, that job in New York paved the way for a role in Europe where I encountered my handsome spouse from France, 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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