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During the year 2006, I made a trip to Canberra for a medical school interview. My plan was to book accommodation when I arrived, yet once I got there, a big convention was in town and every single backpackers hostels and affordable lodging were fully booked.

Coming from Singapore, I thought the possibility of just sleep at the terminal – only to discover the local airport, not like the one back home, does not operate around the clock. Unsure of quite what to do and feeling increasingly desperate, I caught public transport and started wandering towards a gaming venue, thinking it was a place to spend the night somewhere that stayed open through the night. Admittedly, this plan in the ideal condition to succeed at a crucial interview the next morning, yet, as a cash-strapped student, luxury accommodation was impossible.

We could all use more folks with such compassion.

I must have looked out of place since a woman spotted me loitering in downtown and asked if everything was alright. I recounted the story of my accommodation crisis and immediately she said I could sleep on the floor of her dormitory at the Australian National University – a perfect solution, as that’s where my interview would take place the next morning. She went further by offering me some free dinner: a leftover stuffed baguettes she brought back her work shift. This gave me warm shower facilities and a secure location and secure for the evening.

In retrospect, I now understand what a big chance she undertook as a woman letting a man who was a complete stranger crash at her place. At that time I existed within a bubble of male privilege and not even thinking to the potential danger. Now, as a father, it astounds me she did that – and remain deeply appreciative.

I didn’t end up go to the Australian National University, and I never saw her again, but I’ve never forgotten that incredible gesture of human compassion. I hope the universe has repaid her generosity tenfold. The world needs more individuals with such compassion.