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During the closing decade of the 80s, I was embarking on a backpacking trip to the European continent with a friend. Because my companion was interested in enrolling in graduate studies in the Big Apple, we had arranged a 14-day stopover there en route to London.

We got to the student accommodation, a large multi-story edifice on the Manhattan's Upper West Side called International House. Setting down our luggage, we went directly to the canteen, where we picked up meals, sat down, and started talking to other diners.

Adjacent to my seat was an gentleman from Iraq studying engineering at Columbia University. He asked me what I my profession was, and I told him that I had just graduated with a science degree and had been conducting research with electron microscopy.

He mentioned that there was an research lab at the institution – close to the engineering faculty, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He suggested that I ought to seek a position with them. I laughed it off, saying that I was soon departing to Europe and, even more importantly, I did not possess a US visa.

The next day I ventured out, going back to the cafeteria that evening. The Iraqi student walked over to me and informed me that he had set up a meeting for me with the director of the microscopy lab at Columbia. Because he had gone to the trouble, I attended the interview – but right away informed my prospective employer that I lacked the necessary visa, so I was likely not a suitable candidate.

In typical New York fashion – a metropolis where anything feels possible – she declared: “We'll handle it. How soon can you begin?” I missed my plane to London.

I worked there for three years. An advantage of the role was that I was granted no-cost classes at Columbia, and I seized the chance to earn a graduate degree in global studies.

I lost touch with him and I can't recall his name, but his remarkable generosity transformed my future in numerous aspects. I lacked the confidence or self-assurance to approach someone at an prestigious college and request employment. Additionally, I had consistently hoped to take classes in another country, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that educational benefit.

What's more, that role at the university led me to a position in Switzerland where I got to know my beautiful French husband, with whom I am raising 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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