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During the late 1980s, I was beginning a low-cost journey to the European continent with a companion. Because my travel mate was exploring starting a postgraduate program in New York, we had planned a two-week stay there before heading to London.

We arrived at the student accommodation, a big ten-floor structure on the Manhattan's Upper West Side called International House. Setting down our luggage, we went directly to the canteen, where we got some food, sat down, and began chatting with people eating there.

Sitting next to me was an Iraqi man studying engineering at a prestigious New York university. He asked me what I did, and I shared that I had newly finished with a degree in science and had been conducting research with electron microscopy.

He pointed out that there was an electron microscope unit at the university – adjacent to the school of engineering, which was why he was aware of it. He suggested that I ought to seek a position with them. I dismissed the idea, telling him that I was soon departing to Europe and, additionally, I lacked a US visa.

The following day I toured the city, returning to the canteen that evening. The man from Iraq walked over to me and informed me that he had set up a meeting for me with the leader of the research team at Columbia. Because he had taken the effort, I attended the interview – but straight off informed my host that I didn’t have a visa, so I was probably wasting her time.

Reflecting the city's spirit – a place where anything feels possible – she said: “We can make that happen. What's your start date?” I missed my plane to London.

I worked there for three years. A perk of the job was that I also received no-cost classes at Columbia, and I took advantage to complete a postgrad program in international relations.

I never saw that student again and I am unaware of his identity, but his selfless gesture changed my life in numerous aspects. I would never have had the bravery or self-belief to reach out at an prestigious college and ask for a job. Moreover, I had long dreamed to pursue education overseas, but lacked the financial means without that tuition waiver.

What's more, that job in New York resulted in a position in Switzerland where I got to know my beautiful French husband, with whom I now have four wonderful sons and daughters. It was a total sliding doors moment. That helpful person changed my trajectory in life, and I’m forever grateful.

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