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In the final years of the 1980s, I was beginning a low-cost journey to the European continent with a travel partner. Because my travel mate was exploring starting a postgraduate program in New York, we had arranged a fortnight visit there before heading to London.

We got to the postgrad residence, a large 10-storey building on the Manhattan's Upper West Side known as International House. Setting down our luggage, we made our way to the dining hall, where we picked up meals, took a seat, and started talking to other diners.

Adjacent to my seat was an gentleman from Iraq studying engineering at Columbia University. He inquired what I did for a living, and I shared that I had recently completed my studies with a scientific background and had been working on studies using an electron microscope.

He noted that there was an microscopy facility at the institution – close to the school of engineering, which was how he knew about it. He proposed that I ought to seek a job with them. I dismissed the idea, telling him that I was soon departing to Europe and, additionally, I didn’t have a US visa.

The following day I ventured out, going back to the cafeteria that after dark. The Iraqi student approached me and informed me that he had set up a meeting for me with the leader of the research team at Columbia. Given that he had made the arrangement, I showed up for the discussion – but right away informed my host that I lacked the necessary visa, so I was unable to accept the role.

In typical New York fashion – a city where anything feels possible – she responded: “We'll handle it. How soon can you begin?” I never got on that flight to London.

I was employed there for a trio of years. A perk of the job was that I got complimentary education at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to finish a graduate degree in global studies.

I never saw that student again and I don’t even know his full name, but his remarkable generosity changed my life in so many ways. I didn't possess the courage or self-belief to contact anyone at an Ivy League university and seek a position. And, I had long dreamed to pursue education overseas, but could never have afforded it without that educational benefit.

Critically, that gig at Columbia led me to a job in Zurich where I encountered my beautiful French husband, with whom I now have four amazing children. It was a total sliding doors moment. That benevolent individual changed my trajectory in life, and I’m forever grateful.

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