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In the closing decade of the 80s, I was beginning a low-cost journey to Europe with a companion. Since my companion was interested in starting a postgraduate program in the Big Apple, we had planned a fortnight visit there en route to London.

We reached the graduate housing, a big 10-storey building on the Manhattan's Upper West Side known as International House. After dropping our bags, we went directly to the cafeteria, where we picked up meals, found a table, and began chatting with fellow residents.

Sitting next to me was an individual of Iraqi origin pursuing an engineering degree at an Ivy League institution. He asked me what I did for a living, and I shared that I had newly finished with a scientific background and had been conducting research involving microscopic analysis.

He mentioned that there was an electron microscope unit at Columbia University – right next door to the school of engineering, which was how he knew about it. He proposed that I ought to seek a role with them. I laughed it off, explaining that I was soon departing to Europe and, even more importantly, I lacked a US visa.

The following day I went out exploring, going back to the cafeteria that night. The engineering student came up to me and told 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 attended the interview – but immediately explained to my prospective employer that I was without a work permit, so I was probably wasting her time.

As is common in NYC – a city where opportunities abound – she responded: “That can be arranged. How soon can you begin?” I didn't board the aircraft to London.

I was employed there for a trio of years. An advantage of the role was that I was granted free tuition at Columbia, and I took advantage to complete a graduate degree in global studies.

I never saw that student again and I don’t even know his name, but his remarkable generosity transformed my future in so many ways. I would never have had the confidence or self-belief to contact anyone at an prestigious college and seek a position. Moreover, I had consistently hoped to study abroad, but could never have afforded it without that tuition waiver.

Perhaps most importantly, that gig at Columbia led me to a role in Europe where I encountered my beautiful French husband, with whom I now have a family of four kids. That encounter altered everything. That kind stranger set me on a different course in life, and I’m always appreciative.

Can you recall the Nicest Thing a Someone You Didn't Know Has Ever Done for You?

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