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During the final years of the 1980s, I was embarking on a low-cost journey to Europe with a companion. Because my friend was considering starting a postgraduate program in the Big Apple, we had booked a 14-day stopover there en route to London.

We reached the student accommodation, a big ten-floor structure on the UWS called International House. Once we unpacked, we went directly to the cafeteria, where we grabbed food, found a table, and started talking to other diners.

Adjacent to my seat was an gentleman from Iraq studying engineering at a prestigious New York university. He inquired what I did for a living, and I explained that I had recently completed my studies with a scientific background and had been conducting research using an electron microscope.

He noted that there was an research lab at the institution – right next door to the engineering department, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He proposed that I ought to seek a job with them. I chuckled at the suggestion, telling him that I was about to fly to Europe and, more critically, I lacked a US visa.

A day later I toured the city, returning to the canteen that evening. The Iraqi student came up to me and told me that he had arranged an interview for me with the head of the electron microscope unit at Columbia. Given that he had made the arrangement, I attended the interview – but right away told my prospective employer that I was without a work permit, so I was probably wasting her time.

In typical New York fashion – a place where anything feels possible – she said: “We'll handle it. What's your start date?” I never got on that flight to London.

I held that position for a trio of years. A perk of the job was that I got no-cost classes at Columbia, and I seized the chance to finish a postgrad program in international relations.

I never saw that student again and I don’t even know his name, but his incredible act of kindness altered my destiny in numerous aspects. I lacked the bravery or nerve to contact anyone at an Ivy League university and ask for a job. Additionally, I had long dreamed to take classes in another country, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that free tuition.

Perhaps most importantly, that gig at Columbia paved the way for a job in Zurich where I met my wonderful partner, with whom I currently share four amazing children. That encounter altered everything. That kind stranger changed my trajectory in life, and I’m forever grateful.

Tell us about the Most Generous Act a Unknown Person Has Shown for You?

Whether it's making your day to changing your life, we are interested in random meetings that have stuck with you.

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