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In the late 1980s, I set out on a backpacking trip to the European continent with a friend. Because my travel mate was interested in starting a postgraduate program in New York, we had arranged a 14-day stopover there on the way to London.

We got to the graduate housing, a big multi-story edifice on the UWS named International House. After dropping our bags, we headed straight to the cafeteria, where we picked up meals, sat down, and started talking to fellow residents.

Beside me was an Iraqi man studying engineering at an Ivy League institution. He inquired what I did, and I shared that I had newly finished with a science degree and had been working on studies involving microscopic analysis.

He mentioned that there was an electron microscope unit at the university – right next door to the school of engineering, which was why he was aware of it. He recommended that I consider applying for a position with them. I laughed it off, explaining that I was soon departing to Europe and, more critically, I didn’t have a US visa.

The next day I ventured out, coming back to the dining hall that night. The Iraqi student came up to me and told me that he had arranged an interview for me with the director of the microscopy lab at Columbia. Because he had taken the effort, I showed up for the discussion – but straight off explained to my host that I lacked the necessary visa, so I was likely not a suitable candidate.

Reflecting the city's spirit – a place where opportunities abound – she responded: “That can be arranged. When can you start?” I never got on that flight to London.

I worked there for three years. One of the benefits was that I was granted no-cost classes at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to earn a graduate degree in global studies.

I never saw that student again and I am unaware of his full name, but his remarkable generosity transformed my future in so many ways. I would never have had the bravery or self-assurance to reach out at an elite institution and seek a position. Additionally, I had always wanted to pursue education overseas, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that tuition waiver.

Perhaps most importantly, that gig at Columbia resulted in a job in Zurich where I met my wonderful partner, with whom I now have a family of four kids. That encounter altered everything. That kind stranger changed my trajectory in life, and I’m forever grateful.

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