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In the closing decade of the 80s, I was beginning a budget travel adventure to the European continent with a travel partner. Because my travel mate was considering enrolling in graduate studies in New York, we had arranged a fortnight visit there before heading to London.

We reached the student accommodation, a sizeable 10-storey building on the Manhattan's Upper West Side named International House. Once we unpacked, we made our way to the canteen, where we got some food, found a table, and engaged in conversation with people eating there.

Adjacent to my seat was an gentleman from Iraq studying engineering 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 institution – adjacent to the engineering department, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He suggested that I consider applying for a position with them. I dismissed the idea, explaining that I was soon departing to Europe and, more critically, I lacked a US visa.

A day later I ventured out, coming back to the dining hall that after dark. The Iraqi student walked over to me and told me that he had set up a meeting for me with the director of the microscopy lab at Columbia. Because he had taken the effort, I attended the interview – but right away told my prospective employer that I didn’t have a visa, so I was probably wasting her time.

In typical New York fashion – a metropolis where opportunities abound – she said: “That can be arranged. When can you start?” I didn't board the aircraft to London.

I worked there for a trio of years. An advantage of the role was that I was granted no-cost classes at Columbia, and I seized the chance to finish 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 numerous aspects. I didn't possess the bravery or self-belief to contact anyone at an prestigious college and request employment. And, I had always wanted to take classes in another country, but could never have afforded it without that tuition waiver.

Perhaps most importantly, that job in New York paved the way for a position in Switzerland where I got to know my handsome spouse from France, with whom I currently share a family of four kids. This was a pivotal life event. That kind stranger set me on a different course in life, and I’m forever grateful.

Can you recall the Kindest Gesture a Stranger Has Once Performed for You?

From making your day to changing your life, we are interested in chance encounters that have remained in your memory.

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