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During the final years of the 1980s, I set out on a budget travel adventure to the European continent with a friend. Because my friend was interested in starting a postgraduate program in the Big Apple, we had arranged a fortnight visit there en route to London.

We arrived at the student accommodation, a large multi-story edifice on the UWS named International House. Once we unpacked, we headed straight to the dining hall, where we picked up meals, sat down, and engaged in conversation with fellow residents.

Beside me was an Iraqi man enrolled in an engineering program at a prestigious New York university. He inquired what I did for a living, and I told him that I had just graduated with a scientific background and had been working on studies using an electron microscope.

He mentioned that there was an electron microscope unit at the university – adjacent to the school of engineering, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He recommended that I consider applying for a position with them. I laughed it off, telling him that I was soon departing to Europe and, even more importantly, I didn’t have a US visa.

The following day I went out exploring, returning to the canteen that evening. The Iraqi student came up to me and let me know that he had organized a discussion for me with the head of the electron microscope unit at Columbia. Since he had made the arrangement, I went to the meeting – but right away informed my interviewer that I was without a work permit, so I was likely not a suitable candidate.

Reflecting the city's spirit – a place where anything feels possible – she said: “We'll handle it. When can you start?” I didn't board the aircraft to London.

I held that position for 36 months. A perk of the job was that I also received no-cost classes at Columbia, and I took advantage to earn a postgrad program in international relations.

I lost touch with him and I don’t even know his name, but his selfless gesture changed my life in multiple respects. I would never have had the confidence or nerve to reach out at an prestigious college and seek a position. Moreover, I had always wanted to study abroad, but lacked the financial means without that educational benefit.

What's more, that job in New York paved the way for a position in Switzerland where I met my wonderful partner, with whom I now have four amazing children. It was a total sliding doors moment. That helpful person changed my trajectory in life, and I’m always appreciative.

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