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During 2006, My journey took me to Canberra for an interview at a medical college. My plan was to book accommodation when I arrived, yet once I got there, a big convention was happening and all the youth hostels and cheap hotels were fully booked.

As a visitor from Singapore, I thought perhaps I could bed down in the airport – only to discover Canberra airport, not like the one back home, is not open 24 hours. Not knowing quite what to do and feeling increasingly desperate, I boarded a bus into town and found myself drifting in the direction of the casino, believing I might spend those hours in an establishment that stayed open 24/7. Admittedly, this plan in the best shape for acing a crucial interview the next day, but as a cash-strapped student, I couldn’t afford.

We could all use more individuals like that woman.

I must have looked lost since a female student noticed me loitering in downtown and asked if everything was alright. I shared the story of my accommodation crisis and immediately she suggested I could crash on the floor in her student dorm at the local university – a perfect solution, considering that was where my interview would take place the next morning. Generously, she also provided a meal: one stuffed baguettes she had taken home her work shift. This gave me the bathroom and a secure location to rest to sleep.

In retrospect, I now understand what a big chance she undertook being a woman inviting a guy who was a complete stranger sleep on her floor. Back then I was in my male privilege bubble and did not consider to the potential danger. As a dad now, I am astonished she did that – but still very grateful.

I didn’t end up study at the Australian National University, and I never saw the student afterwards, but I’ve never forgotten that incredible gesture of human compassion. I hope karma has rewarded her good deed tenfold. Our society requires more individuals with such compassion.