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In the late 1980s, I was beginning a low-cost journey to Europe with a friend. Since my companion was interested in pursuing a master’s degree in the Big Apple, we had arranged a fortnight visit there on the way to London.

We reached the postgrad residence, a big 10-storey building on the UWS named International House. After dropping our bags, we went directly to the canteen, where we picked up meals, sat down, and started talking to people eating there.

Adjacent to my seat was an individual of Iraqi origin studying engineering at Columbia University. He wanted to know what I my profession was, and I shared that I had just graduated with a science degree and had been conducting research using an electron microscope.

He pointed out that there was an microscopy facility at Columbia University – right next door to the engineering faculty, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He recommended that I ought to seek a position with them. I dismissed the idea, explaining that I was about to fly to Europe and, even more importantly, I didn’t have a US visa.

A day later I toured the city, returning to the canteen that evening. The man from Iraq came up to me and told me that he had arranged an interview for me with the director of the microscopy lab at Columbia. Since he had taken the effort, I attended the interview – but immediately explained to my host that I didn’t have a visa, so I was probably wasting her time.

In typical New York fashion – a metropolis where opportunities abound – she said: “That can be arranged. What's your start date?” I never got on that flight to London.

I held that position for three years. A perk of the job was that I was granted complimentary education at Columbia, and I seized the chance to finish a graduate degree in global studies.

I lost touch with him and I don’t even know his name, but his remarkable generosity transformed my future in multiple respects. I lacked the bravery or self-belief to approach someone at an Ivy League university and ask for a job. And, I had consistently hoped to pursue education overseas, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that tuition waiver.

What's more, that job in New York led me to a role in Europe where I got to know my beautiful French husband, with whom I currently share a family of four kids. That encounter altered everything. That kind stranger changed my trajectory in life, and I’m forever grateful.

What is the Most Generous Act a Stranger Has Once Performed for You?

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