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In the late 1980s, I was embarking on a budget travel adventure to Europe with a companion. Since my travel mate was interested in starting a postgraduate program in the Big Apple, we had booked a fortnight visit there en route to London.

We arrived at the student accommodation, a big multi-story edifice on the Manhattan's Upper West Side named International House. Once we unpacked, we made our way to the cafeteria, where we picked up meals, took a seat, and started talking to other diners.

Beside me was an Iraqi man studying engineering at a prestigious New York university. He asked me what I did, and I told him that I had just graduated with a degree in science and had been conducting research with electron microscopy.

He pointed out that there was an research lab at the university – right next door to the engineering department, which was how he knew about it. He recommended that I should apply for a position with them. I dismissed the idea, saying that I was heading off to Europe and, more critically, I didn’t have a US visa.

The next day I toured the city, going back to the cafeteria that night. The engineering student came up to me and told me that he had set up a meeting for me with the leader of the research team at Columbia. Because he had gone to the trouble, I showed up for the discussion – but right away informed my host that I was without a work permit, so I was probably wasting her time.

As is common in NYC – a metropolis where everything seems achievable – she declared: “We can make that happen. How soon can you begin?” I missed my plane to London.

I was employed there for 36 months. A perk of the job was that I also received complimentary education at Columbia, and I took advantage to complete a postgrad program in international relations.

I never saw that student again and I don’t even know his name, but his remarkable generosity altered my destiny in multiple respects. I would never have had the bravery or self-belief to reach out at an prestigious college and request employment. Additionally, I had long dreamed to pursue education overseas, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that free tuition.

Critically, that job in New York resulted in a position in Switzerland where I encountered my beautiful French husband, with whom I now have a family of four kids. It was a total sliding doors moment. That helpful person set me on a different course in life, and I’m always appreciative.

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