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During 2006, I traveled to Canberra for a medical school interview. My plan was to arrange accommodation after getting there, but when I arrived, a big convention was in town and all the budget hostels and affordable lodging were completely sold out.

As a visitor from Singapore, I thought maybe I could bed down in the terminal – but soon learned that airport, not like the one back home, closes 24 hours. Unsure of quite what to do and getting a bit desperate, I hopped on a city-bound bus and started wandering in the direction of a gaming venue, believing I could pass the evening in an establishment that stayed open all night. This was not ideal in the best shape for nailing the admissions interview the following day, but as a cash-strapped student, a pricey hotel was out of reach.

The world needs more people with such compassion.

It seems I seemed out of place as a young woman spotted me loitering in downtown and wondered whether I needed help. I explained the story of my accommodation crisis and right away she suggested I could crash on the floor in her student dorm at the local university – an ideal turn of events, given that my my medical school interview would take place the next morning. Generously, she also provided me some free dinner: a leftover filled rolls she brought back her work shift. I was able to use warm shower facilities and somewhere safe to rest to sleep.

With hindsight, I now understand the significant risk she took as a woman inviting a man she had only just encountered crash at her place. In those days I was in a bubble of male privilege and did not consider about things like that. As a dad now, I am astonished she offered that help – but still deeply appreciative.

Ultimately, I did not study at ANU, and I lost touch with her again, yet her memory has stayed with me her amazing act of kindness. It is my wish the universe has repaid her act of kindness many times over. The world needs more folks with such compassion.