NATCHEZ — Celebrity sightings are always possible in New York City, but not every tourist is lucky enough to catch a glimpse.

But for Natchezian Kelvin Luster the stars were aligned on July 21 for a brief meeting with Barbara Walters, co-host and executive producer for ABC’s “The View.”

Luster was eating lunch at Jean Georges at 12:15 p.m. when Barbara Walters took a seat at a table next to his.

“I’ll never forget that moment,” Luster said. “It was truly the highlight of my trip.”

Luster, a loan officer at Britton & Koontz Bank, said he was able to eat at Jean Georges, a five star restaurant, because it was Restaurant Week in New York City, and the fine dining restaurants were more affordably priced during that time.

Star-struck when Walters sat down so closely, Luster picked up his cell phone to call a co-worker. Luster thought he was being discreet in his conversation but let his excitement take over.

“I guess I didn’t realize how loud I was being,” Luster said. “When I got off the phone she nodded as if to acknowledge me.”

The fact that Luster saw Walters so closely was lucky, but it didn’t end there. Walters engaged him in conversation.

“It was all polite conversation. ‘Are you enjoying your stay?’ ‘What brings you here,” Luster said. “I was just soaking in the moment.”

Luster was still outside the restaurant when Walters exited, so he asked if she would be open taking a picture.

Once again Walters was polite and accommodating.

“She said ‘Not at all’,” Luster said. “She could have ignored my request or said no, but she was always polite.”

That picture has now been mailed off to ABC in hopes of being returned with an autograph.

Luster, who is one class away from earning his masters in secondary education, said that while meeting Barbara Walters was the highlight of the trip, it was also very educational.

He visited Carnegie Hall, the New York Stock Exchange, the Museum of Modern Art where he saw an exhibit by one of his favorite artist, Jackson Pollack and many other New York landmarks.

“I went to see the Chrysler Building and learned that it was the tallest building in New York for two weeks,” Luster said. “It took seven years to build but was only the tallest for two weeks.”

He also visited Federal Hall where he learned that New York City was the former capital of the United States.

Luster took the seven-day trip as a reward for the work that has gone into pursuing his masters degree.

“I didn’t have a plan. I just went to see all the stuff you hear about,” Luster said.

He was able to see four Broadway shows, “Chorus Line,” “Spring Awakening,” “Cirque Dreams” and “Chicago,” during the “life changing” trip.

The only thing he would have changed — he wished he could have taken his mom.