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In the late 1980s, I was beginning a backpacking trip to Europe with a friend. Since my companion was interested in starting a postgraduate program in the Big Apple, we had arranged a two-week stay there before heading to London.

We reached the postgrad residence, a large 10-storey building on the Manhattan's Upper West Side known as International House. Setting down our luggage, we headed straight to the canteen, where we got some food, found a table, and engaged in conversation with other diners.

Sitting next to me was an Iraqi man pursuing an engineering degree at a prestigious New York university. He inquired what I did for a living, and I shared that I had newly finished with a degree in science and had been working on studies involving microscopic analysis.

He mentioned that there was an microscopy facility at Columbia University – right next door to the engineering faculty, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He proposed that I should apply for a job with them. I laughed it off, explaining that I was soon departing to Europe and, more critically, I lacked a US visa.

A day later I went out exploring, going back to the cafeteria that evening. The Iraqi student approached me and let me know that he had arranged an interview for me with the director of the microscopy lab at Columbia. Because he had gone to the trouble, I went to the meeting – but right away informed my host that I lacked the necessary visa, so I was probably wasting her time.

In typical New York fashion – a city where everything seems achievable – she said: “That can be arranged. What's your start date?” I missed my plane to London.

I was employed there for 36 months. A perk of the job was that I got no-cost classes at Columbia, and I took advantage to finish a master’s of international affairs.

We didn't cross paths after that and I don’t even know his identity, but his selfless gesture changed my life in numerous aspects. I didn't possess the confidence or self-assurance to reach out at an Ivy League university and request employment. And, I had always wanted to take classes in another country, but could never have afforded it without that tuition waiver.

What's more, that role at the university resulted in a job in Zurich where I met my beautiful French husband, with whom I am raising a family of four kids. That encounter altered everything. That helpful person changed my trajectory in life, and I’m always appreciative.

What is the Kindest Gesture a Unknown Person Has Shown for You?

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