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During the final years of the 1980s, I was embarking on a budget travel adventure to Europe with a friend. Because my companion was exploring pursuing a master’s degree in NYC, we had booked a two-week stay there before heading to London.

We arrived at the student accommodation, a sizeable ten-floor structure on the Manhattan's Upper West Side named International House. Setting down our luggage, we headed straight to the canteen, where we got some food, took a seat, and started talking to people eating there.

Beside me was an Iraqi man studying engineering at Columbia University. He asked me what I did, and I shared that I had newly finished with a degree in science and had been conducting research involving microscopic analysis.

He noted that there was an research lab at the institution – adjacent to the engineering faculty, which was how he knew about it. He suggested that I consider applying for a job with them. I chuckled at the suggestion, explaining that I was about to fly to Europe and, even more importantly, I did not possess a US visa.

The following day I ventured out, going back to the cafeteria that after dark. The engineering student walked over to me and let me know that he had organized a discussion for me with the leader of the research team at Columbia. Given that he had gone to the trouble, I attended the interview – but right away told my host that I was without a work permit, so I was likely not a suitable candidate.

Reflecting the city's spirit – a metropolis where everything seems achievable – she declared: “That can be arranged. What's your start date?” I didn't board the aircraft to London.

I held that position for 36 months. One of the benefits was that I got free tuition at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to complete a graduate degree in global studies.

I never saw that student again and I don’t even know his identity, but his remarkable generosity transformed my future in so many ways. I would never have had the confidence or self-belief to approach someone at an Ivy League university and seek a position. Moreover, I had consistently hoped to take classes in another country, but could never have afforded it without that tuition waiver.

Critically, that gig at Columbia led me to a position in Switzerland where I got to know my beautiful French husband, with whom I now have a family of four kids. It was a total sliding doors moment. 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 Shown for You?

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