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During the closing decade of the 80s, I set out on a backpacking trip to the European continent with a travel partner. Because my friend was considering starting a postgraduate program in NYC, we had planned a 14-day stopover there on the way to London.

We arrived at the postgrad residence, a sizeable 10-storey building on the Manhattan's Upper West Side called International House. Once we unpacked, we made our way to the cafeteria, where we picked up meals, found a table, and engaged in conversation with other diners.

Adjacent to my seat was an Iraqi man enrolled in an engineering program at an Ivy League institution. He wanted to know what I my profession was, and I told him that I had newly finished with a science degree and had been performing experiments involving microscopic analysis.

He noted that there was an research lab at Columbia University – adjacent to the school of engineering, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He suggested that I ought to seek a role with them. I chuckled at the suggestion, explaining that I was soon departing to Europe and, more critically, I didn’t have a US visa.

The following day I toured the city, going back to the cafeteria that night. The Iraqi student approached me and let me know that he had organized a discussion for me with the leader of the research team at Columbia. Since he had taken the effort, I went to the meeting – but immediately informed my interviewer that I lacked the necessary visa, so I was probably wasting her time.

Reflecting the city's spirit – a metropolis where anything feels possible – she responded: “We can make that happen. When can you start?” I never got on that flight to London.

I was employed there for a trio of years. A perk of the job was that I got no-cost classes at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to earn a postgrad program in international relations.

We didn't cross paths after that and I don’t even know his name, but his incredible act of kindness transformed my future in so many ways. I lacked the courage or self-belief to reach out at an Ivy League university and ask for a job. And, I had consistently hoped to take classes in another country, but lacked the financial means without that educational benefit.

Critically, that role at the university paved the way for a job in Zurich where I got to know my handsome spouse from France, with whom I currently share four wonderful sons and daughters. That encounter altered everything. That benevolent individual set me on a different course in life, and I’m forever grateful.

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

Whether it's brightening your mood to altering your path, we want to hear about chance encounters that have stuck with you.

Feel free to recount your experience if you are 18 or over, anonymously if you choose. The stories you tell are confidential, and are solely for the purpose of this feature.