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During the closing decade of the 80s, I was embarking on a budget travel adventure to Europe with a friend. Since my travel mate was interested in enrolling in graduate studies in the Big Apple, we had arranged a two-week stay there en route to London.

We arrived at the student accommodation, a large multi-story edifice on the Manhattan's Upper West Side known as International House. Setting down our luggage, we made our way to the canteen, where we got some food, found a table, and engaged in conversation with fellow residents.

Adjacent to my seat was an gentleman from Iraq studying engineering at a prestigious New York university. He wanted to know what I did for a living, and I told him that I had just graduated with a science degree and had been performing experiments using an electron microscope.

He mentioned that there was an research lab at the university – adjacent to the engineering department, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He recommended that I should apply for a position with them. I laughed it off, telling him that I was about to fly to Europe and, additionally, I didn’t have a US visa.

The following day I toured the city, returning to the canteen that night. The engineering student came up to 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 gone to the trouble, I showed up for the discussion – but straight off explained to my interviewer that I lacked the necessary visa, so I was probably wasting her time.

In typical New York fashion – a city where opportunities abound – she declared: “We'll handle it. When can you start?” I missed my plane to London.

I worked there for 36 months. One of the benefits was that I got complimentary education at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to earn a postgrad program in international relations.

We didn't cross paths after that and I don’t even know his identity, but his incredible act of kindness changed my life in so many ways. I would never have had the courage or nerve to approach someone at an Ivy League university and seek a position. And, I had long dreamed to take classes in another country, but could never have afforded it without that educational benefit.

Perhaps most importantly, that gig at Columbia paved the way for a role in Europe where I got to know my beautiful French husband, 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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