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In the late 1980s, I was beginning a backpacking trip to the European continent with a friend. Because my friend was exploring pursuing a master’s degree in New York, we had booked a two-week stay there on the way to London.

We got to the postgrad residence, a big multi-story edifice on the Manhattan's Upper West Side called International House. Setting down our luggage, we went directly to the canteen, where we picked up meals, found a table, and engaged in conversation with people eating there.

Sitting next to me was an Iraqi man enrolled in an engineering program at an Ivy League institution. He asked me what I did, and I explained that I had newly finished with a scientific background and had been performing experiments with electron microscopy.

He pointed out that there was an microscopy facility at the university – adjacent to the school of engineering, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He suggested that I consider applying for a job with them. I dismissed the idea, explaining that I was about to fly to Europe and, more critically, I didn’t have a US visa.

The following day I went out exploring, returning to the canteen that night. The man from Iraq came up to me and let me know that he had set up a meeting for me with the leader of the research team at Columbia. Since he had taken the effort, I attended the interview – but immediately informed my prospective employer that I didn’t have a visa, so I was unable to accept the role.

In typical New York fashion – a city where opportunities abound – she responded: “We'll handle it. When can you start?” I never got on that flight to London.

I worked there for a trio of years. A perk of the job was that I also received complimentary education at Columbia, and I seized the chance to complete a postgrad program in international relations.

I never saw that student again and I am unaware of his full name, but his remarkable generosity altered my destiny in numerous aspects. I lacked the confidence or self-belief to contact anyone at an Ivy League university and ask for a job. Moreover, I had long dreamed to take classes in another country, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that educational benefit.

Perhaps most importantly, that role at the university resulted in a job in Zurich where I got to know my handsome spouse from France, with whom I currently share a family of four kids. It was a total sliding doors moment. That kind stranger set me on a different course in life, and I’m forever grateful.

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

Whether it's making your day to altering your path, we would love to know chance encounters that have left a lasting impression.

Feel free to recount your experience if you are of legal age, without revealing your identity if you choose. What you share are secure, and are intended for the aim of this article.