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During 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 pursuing a master’s degree in the Big Apple, we had booked a fortnight visit there before heading to London.

We got to the graduate housing, a big multi-story edifice on the Upper West Side called International House. Setting down our luggage, we made our way to the cafeteria, where we picked up meals, took a seat, and began chatting with fellow residents.

Adjacent to my seat was an gentleman from Iraq studying engineering at a prestigious New York university. He inquired what I did for a living, and I explained that I had just graduated with a science degree and had been conducting research involving microscopic analysis.

He mentioned that there was an electron microscope unit at the university – adjacent to the school of engineering, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He recommended that I ought to seek a role with them. I dismissed the idea, saying that I was soon departing to Europe and, more critically, I lacked a US visa.

A day later I ventured out, going back to the cafeteria that evening. The Iraqi student came up to me and informed me that he had arranged an interview for me with the director of the microscopy lab at Columbia. Since he had made the arrangement, I went to the meeting – but right away explained to my interviewer that I was without a work permit, so I was unable to accept the role.

In typical New York fashion – a metropolis where anything feels possible – she declared: “That can be arranged. How soon can you begin?” I never got on that flight to London.

I held that position for a trio of years. An advantage of the role was that I was granted free tuition at Columbia, and I took advantage to complete a graduate degree in global studies.

We didn't cross paths after that and I don’t even know his name, but his selfless gesture transformed my future in so many ways. I lacked the confidence or nerve to contact anyone at an Ivy League university and ask for a job. Additionally, I had long dreamed to study abroad, but could never have afforded it without that educational benefit.

Perhaps most importantly, that gig at Columbia led me to a job in Zurich where I met my handsome spouse from France, with whom I am raising four amazing children. It was a total sliding doors moment. That benevolent individual redirected my path in life, and I’m forever grateful.

Can you recall the Nicest Thing a Stranger Has Once Performed for You?

From brightening your mood to altering your path, we would love to know random meetings that have left a lasting impression.

Feel free to recount your experience if you are 18 or over, without revealing your identity if you choose. What you share are confidential, and will only be used the aim of this article.