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During the year 2006, I made a trip to the Australian capital for an admissions interview for medical school. I figured I would book accommodation when I arrived, however once I got there, a large conference was happening and every single youth hostels and affordable lodging were fully booked.

Hailing from the city-state of Singapore, the idea crossed my mind the possibility of just sleep at the airport – but quickly found Canberra airport, not like the one back home, does not operate around the clock. Unsure of how to proceed and growing worried, I caught public transport and started wandering towards the casino, reasoning it was a place to spend the evening in an establishment operating 24/7. Admittedly, this plan in the ideal condition for nailing an interview the following day, however, being a cash-strapped student, a pricey hotel was out of reach.

Our society requires more folks who show such kindness.

I must have looked confused since a woman spotted me loitering in the city and wondered whether I needed help. I explained the story of my accommodation crisis and immediately she suggested I could crash on the ground in her student dorm at ANU – an ideal turn of events, as that’s where my interview was the following day. Generously, she also provided a meal: one sandwiches she had from her evening job. I had access to the bathroom and somewhere safe and secure to sleep.

With hindsight, I can appreciate the enormous leap of faith she accepted as a woman letting a male stranger she’d just met sleep on her floor. In those days I was in my own unawareness and not even thinking to the potential danger. Now, as a father, I am astonished she did that – yet incredibly thankful.

Ultimately, I did not go to ANU, and I lost touch with the student afterwards, yet her memory has stayed with me that incredible gesture of human compassion. It is my wish karma has repaid her act of kindness tenfold. Our society requires more individuals with such compassion.