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In the late 1980s, I was embarking on a low-cost journey to the European continent with a travel partner. Because my companion was considering starting a postgraduate program in New York, we had booked a 14-day stopover there before heading to London.

We arrived at the postgrad residence, a big ten-floor structure on the Manhattan's Upper West Side called International House. Once we unpacked, we made our way to the dining hall, where we got some food, found a table, and engaged in conversation with people eating there.

Adjacent to my seat was an Iraqi man studying engineering at an Ivy League institution. He wanted to know what I my profession was, and I told him that I had recently completed my studies with a scientific background and had been working on studies involving microscopic analysis.

He pointed out that there was an research lab at the university – adjacent to the school of engineering, which was why he was aware of it. He proposed that I should apply for a position with them. I chuckled at the suggestion, telling him that I was about to fly to Europe and, even more importantly, I lacked a US visa.

The next day I toured the city, coming back to the dining hall that night. The engineering student approached me and informed me that he had organized a discussion for me with the leader of the research team at Columbia. Since he had taken the effort, I went to the meeting – but straight off told my interviewer that I was without a work permit, so I was unable to accept the role.

In typical New York fashion – a metropolis where everything seems achievable – she declared: “That can be arranged. How soon can you begin?” 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 seized the chance to earn a master’s of international affairs.

I lost touch with him and I can't recall his full name, but his selfless gesture transformed my future in multiple respects. I didn't possess the courage or self-belief to contact anyone at an elite institution and ask for a job. Additionally, I had long dreamed to pursue education overseas, but could never have afforded it without that free tuition.

What's more, that job in New York resulted in a role in Europe where I encountered my wonderful partner, with whom I now have a family of four kids. It was a total sliding doors moment. That kind stranger set me on a different course in life, and I’m forever grateful.

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