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In the final years of the 1980s, I was embarking on a budget travel adventure to Europe with a travel partner. Because my companion was exploring starting a postgraduate program in New York, we had planned a 14-day stopover there before heading to London.

We got to the postgrad residence, a large ten-floor structure on the Upper West Side called International House. Setting down our luggage, we went directly to the dining hall, where we picked up meals, took a seat, and engaged in conversation with people eating there.

Adjacent to my seat was an gentleman from Iraq enrolled in an engineering program at a prestigious New York university. He inquired what I did, and I shared that I had just graduated with a science degree and had been performing experiments involving microscopic analysis.

He noted that there was an microscopy facility at the university – right next door to the engineering faculty, which was why he was aware of it. He proposed that I ought to seek a position with them. I chuckled at the suggestion, explaining that I was heading off 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 told me that he had organized a discussion for me with the head of the electron microscope unit at Columbia. Because he had gone to the trouble, I attended the interview – but straight off informed my prospective employer that I was without a work permit, so I was probably wasting her time.

Reflecting the city's spirit – a metropolis where anything feels possible – she declared: “We can make that happen. What's your start date?” I never got on that flight to London.

I worked there for 36 months. One of the benefits was that I also received free tuition at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to complete a postgrad program in international relations.

We didn't cross paths after that and I can't recall his name, but his selfless gesture changed my life in multiple respects. I didn't possess the bravery or nerve to approach someone at an elite institution and seek a position. Moreover, I had consistently hoped to pursue education overseas, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that educational benefit.

Critically, that job in New York led me to a job in Zurich where I encountered my handsome spouse from France, with whom I currently share 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 eternally thankful.

Can you recall the Kindest Gesture a Someone You Didn't Know Has Shown for You?

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