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In the final years of the 1980s, I was embarking on a low-cost journey to Europe with a friend. Since my companion was considering enrolling in graduate studies in New York, we had planned a 14-day stopover there before heading to London.

We reached the student accommodation, a sizeable multi-story edifice on the Upper West Side called International House. After dropping our bags, we went directly to the dining hall, where we got some food, sat down, and began chatting with fellow residents.

Sitting next to me was an Iraqi man pursuing an engineering degree at Columbia University. He wanted to know what I did, and I explained that I had newly finished with a degree in science and had been performing experiments with electron microscopy.

He mentioned that there was an research lab at the university – close to the school of engineering, which was how he knew about it. He proposed that I ought to seek a position with them. I chuckled at the suggestion, explaining that I was about to fly to Europe and, more critically, I lacked a US visa.

The next day I ventured out, returning to the canteen that night. The man from Iraq came up to me and told me that he had set up a meeting for me with the director of the microscopy lab at Columbia. Given that he had taken the effort, I attended the interview – but right away told my prospective employer that I didn’t have a visa, so I was likely not a suitable candidate.

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

I held that position for three years. An advantage of the role was that I got no-cost classes at Columbia, and I took advantage to finish a postgrad program in international relations.

I never saw that student again and I don’t even know his full name, but his selfless gesture transformed my future in numerous aspects. I would never have had the courage or nerve to contact anyone at an Ivy League university and request employment. And, I had long dreamed to take classes in another country, but could never have afforded it without that tuition waiver.

Perhaps most importantly, that gig at Columbia resulted in a position in Switzerland where I encountered my handsome spouse from France, with whom I am raising four wonderful sons and daughters. It was a total sliding doors moment. That helpful person set me on a different course in life, and I’m eternally thankful.

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