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During the final years of the 1980s, I was embarking on a low-cost journey to the European continent with a travel partner. Since my travel mate was exploring starting a postgraduate program in the Big Apple, we had booked a 14-day stopover there before heading to London.

We got to the student accommodation, a sizeable multi-story edifice on the Manhattan's Upper West Side called International House. Setting down our luggage, we went directly to the cafeteria, where we got some food, sat down, and started talking to people eating there.

Adjacent to my seat was an individual of Iraqi origin enrolled in an engineering program at an Ivy League institution. He asked me what I did, and I told him that I had just graduated with a degree in science and had been conducting research using an electron microscope.

He noted that there was an electron microscope unit at Columbia University – adjacent to the engineering department, which was why he was aware of it. He suggested that I ought to seek a role with them. I laughed it off, saying that I was heading off to Europe and, even more importantly, I lacked a US visa.

The following day I went out exploring, going back to the cafeteria that after dark. The Iraqi student came up to me and informed me that he had set up a meeting for me with the head of the electron microscope unit at Columbia. Since he had made the arrangement, I went to the meeting – but immediately explained to my host that I didn’t have a visa, so I was likely not a suitable candidate.

Reflecting the city's spirit – a place where anything feels possible – she responded: “We'll handle it. When can you start?” I never got on that flight to London.

I worked there for a trio of years. A perk of the job was that I was granted free tuition at Columbia, and I took advantage to finish a postgrad program in international relations.

I lost touch with him and I can't recall his identity, but his incredible act of kindness altered my destiny in numerous aspects. I didn't possess the bravery or self-belief to contact anyone at an elite institution and ask for a job. Additionally, I had consistently hoped to study abroad, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that tuition waiver.

Critically, that job in New York paved the way for a position in Switzerland where I met my handsome spouse from France, with whom I currently share four amazing children. This was a pivotal life event. That helpful person changed my trajectory in life, and I’m forever grateful.

Can you recall the Most Generous Act a Unknown Person Has Shown for You?

Whether it's cheering you up to transforming your future, we are interested in random meetings that have remained in your memory.

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