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During the closing decade of the 80s, I was embarking on a low-cost journey to the European continent with a companion. Since my companion was interested in enrolling in graduate studies in the Big Apple, we had arranged a two-week stay there en route to London.

We arrived at the student accommodation, a big ten-floor structure on the Manhattan's Upper West Side known as International House. Setting down our luggage, we headed straight to the canteen, where we got some food, found a table, and started talking to fellow residents.

Adjacent to my seat was an Iraqi man enrolled in an engineering program at a prestigious New York university. He inquired what I did for a living, and I shared that I had newly finished with a scientific background and had been performing experiments with electron microscopy.

He noted that there was an research lab at the university – close to the engineering department, which was why he was aware of it. He recommended that I ought to seek a job with them. I laughed it off, explaining that I was soon departing to Europe and, even more importantly, I didn’t have a US visa.

The next day I toured the city, going back to the cafeteria that night. The Iraqi student walked over to me and told me that he had organized a discussion for me with the head of the electron microscope unit at Columbia. Given that he had gone to the trouble, I went to the meeting – but immediately explained to my interviewer that I was without a work permit, so I was likely not a suitable candidate.

Reflecting the city's spirit – a place where anything feels possible – she said: “That can be arranged. How soon can you begin?” I missed my plane to London.

I was employed there for three years. A perk of the job was that I got free tuition at Columbia, and I seized the chance to finish a master’s of international affairs.

I never saw that student again and I don’t even know his full name, but his selfless gesture changed my life in numerous aspects. I didn't possess the courage or nerve to contact anyone at an Ivy League university and ask for a job. Moreover, I had long dreamed to pursue education overseas, but could never have afforded it without that tuition waiver.

Critically, that role at the university resulted in a role in Europe where I met my beautiful French husband, with whom I currently share four amazing children. This was a pivotal life event. That helpful person changed my trajectory in life, and I’m eternally thankful.

Can you recall the Most Generous Act a Stranger Has Once Performed for You?

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