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In the closing decade of the 80s, I was beginning a backpacking trip to Europe with a travel partner. Because my companion was interested in pursuing a master’s degree in the Big Apple, we had booked a 14-day stopover there before heading to London.

We got to the graduate housing, a large multi-story edifice on the Manhattan's Upper West Side known as International House. Setting down our luggage, we made our way to the canteen, where we got some food, sat down, and started talking to people eating there.

Sitting next to me was an gentleman from Iraq enrolled in an engineering program at a prestigious New York university. He asked me what I did, and I explained that I had newly finished with a degree in science and had been performing experiments using an electron microscope.

He mentioned that there was an research lab at the university – adjacent to the engineering faculty, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He recommended that I ought to seek a position with them. I laughed it off, explaining that I was about to fly to Europe and, more critically, I didn’t have a US visa.

The next day I went out exploring, coming back to the dining hall that after dark. The engineering student approached me and informed me that he had arranged an interview for me with the director of the microscopy lab at Columbia. Given that he had made the arrangement, I showed up for the discussion – but immediately told my host that I lacked the necessary visa, so I was likely not a suitable candidate.

In typical New York fashion – a city where everything seems achievable – she declared: “We can make that happen. When can you start?” I never got on that flight to London.

I worked there for three years. A perk of the job was that I was granted free tuition at Columbia, and I seized the chance to earn a graduate degree in global studies.

I never saw that student again and I am unaware of his identity, but his incredible act of kindness changed my life in multiple respects. I lacked the courage or nerve to approach someone at an prestigious college and ask for a job. Additionally, I had always wanted to study abroad, but could never have afforded it without that free tuition.

Perhaps most importantly, that job in New York resulted in a position in Switzerland where I encountered my beautiful French husband, with whom I now have four wonderful sons and daughters. 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 Most Generous Act a Unknown Person Has Once Performed for You?

From making your day to transforming your future, we would love to know chance encounters that have remained in your memory.

Please share your story if you are of legal age, keeping your details private if you wish. Your responses are confidential, and are intended for the aim of this article.