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Back in the year 2006, I made a trip to Canberra for an admissions interview for medical school. I figured I would book lodging upon arrival, but when I arrived, a major event was in town and every single budget hostels and affordable lodging had no vacancies.

As a visitor from Singapore, I considered perhaps I could just sleep at the terminal – only to discover that airport, unlike Singapore’s, closes around the clock. Unsure of what my next move should be and feeling increasingly desperate, I caught a city-bound bus and started wandering near a gaming venue, reasoning it was a place to spend the evening somewhere that was open 24/7. That wouldn’t put me at my peak to succeed at an interview the following day, but as a student on a tight budget, I couldn’t afford.

Our society requires more people with such compassion.

It seems I seemed out of place since a young woman noticed me walking aimlessly through the city center and asked if everything was alright. I shared my predicament and without hesitation she said I was welcome to sleep on a spare mattress in her student dorm at the Australian National University – an ideal turn of events, considering that was where the important interview was scheduled for the next day. She went further by offering a meal: one of the stuffed baguettes she brought back her part-time job. This gave me the bathroom and a protected spot to rest to sleep.

Looking back, I now understand the significant risk she undertook as a woman inviting a male stranger who was a complete stranger sleep on her floor. In those days I operated under a bubble of male privilege and did not consider about things like that. Today, as a parent, I’m amazed she took that chance – and remain incredibly thankful.

I never did go to the Australian National University, and I never saw that kind stranger again, but I’ve never forgotten her amazing act of generosity. My sincere desire is that life has returned her act of kindness tenfold. We could all use more folks with such compassion.