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In the late 1980s, I was embarking on a backpacking trip to the European continent with a travel partner. Because my companion was considering pursuing a master’s degree in the Big Apple, we had planned a two-week stay there before heading to London.

We reached the postgrad residence, a large multi-story edifice on the Manhattan's Upper West Side named International House. Setting down our luggage, we headed straight to the cafeteria, where we picked up meals, sat down, and began chatting with people eating there.

Beside me was an Iraqi man pursuing an engineering degree at a prestigious New York university. He asked me what I my profession was, and I explained that I had just graduated with a scientific background and had been conducting research with electron microscopy.

He noted that there was an research lab at the university – close to the engineering department, which was how he knew about it. He proposed that I ought to seek a role with them. I laughed it off, saying that I was soon departing to Europe and, even more importantly, I didn’t have a US visa.

A day later I ventured out, going back to the cafeteria that after dark. The Iraqi student approached 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 gone to the trouble, I showed up for the discussion – but immediately informed my interviewer that I was without a work permit, so I was probably wasting her time.

In typical New York fashion – 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 held that position for three years. One of the benefits was that I got no-cost classes at Columbia, and I took advantage to earn a graduate degree in global studies.

We didn't cross paths after that and I don’t even know his full name, but his selfless gesture altered my destiny in so many ways. I would never have had the bravery or self-assurance to reach out at an prestigious college and ask for a job. Moreover, I had consistently hoped to take classes in another country, but lacked the financial means without that educational benefit.

What's more, that role at the university paved the way for a role in Europe where I encountered my beautiful French husband, with whom I am raising four amazing children. This was a pivotal life event. That benevolent individual set me on a different course in life, and I’m eternally thankful.

Can you recall the Kindest Gesture a Unknown Person Has Ever Done for You?

Whether it's brightening your mood to altering your path, we are interested in chance encounters that have left a lasting impression.

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