Shajahan Syed dreams of opening her own medical facility someday. Despite already having serious medical credentials, CSI is a strategic step in her plan.
In January of 2026, Shajahan Syed started taking classes at CSI. This isn’t the first time she’s been a student. She holds a bachelor’s degree in physical therapy from her home country of India. In 2017, she came to the United States where she completed an associate’s degree in another medical field, cardiac sonography. After that, she was able to land a job but decided to layer business education on top of it all because of her long term dream. CSI isn’t just a school for her, it’s a step toward achieving her career goals.
Although she has a student visa, Shajahan is authorized to have a job, “I work in a facility as a cardiac sonographer. I have to maintain my classes and I wanted to explore options in business,” she says. CSI turned out to be what she needed to lay the foundation, “In the future I want to run my own diagnostic center.”
Business Classes for International Students
Shajahan is taking classes as part of the Organizational Administration concentration. The program will prepare her to manage some of the day-to-day operations that she will face as a future business owner. CSI offers several business career programs, giving students the option to tailor their education to their personal career goals. If one isn’t enough, they are able to focus on another concentration when they finish.
Shajahan is part of the hybrid program, which allows flexible online classes for international students combined with in-person immersions for face to face learning. She takes classes online on Tuesdays and Thursdays and does the in-person segments at the campus in Lombard, Illinois. Meeting her fellow Zoom students in a classroom has been one of her favorite experiences so far, “That’s the part I like the most. We have an upcoming immersion class this weekend and I can’t wait to see everybody.”
Even the classes she takes online have been a great experience, “I love the classes so far. I have the Zoom online classes every week. They’re so wonderful and so interesting,” says Shajahan. She added, “I’m actively participating. The professor and all my peers in the class are very awesome. It is really lively, and even the lecture and the activities that we do are really interesting.”
As a new student at CSI, Shajahan said that the school made things easy when she decided to take business classes there, “The application process is very smooth. The DSO and the officials at CSI made it easier. You can do everything from your phone or online,” she says. In fact, the convenience was shocking, “I just did it in like two days! I couldn’t believe that the process was so smooth. I’ve been to another school and it was not that easy.”
International Student with Family
School and work are only the tip of the iceberg for Shajahan. She’s also a parent, which adds to her busy life, “I’m actually a mom of two, so I like to spend most of the time with my kids,” she says. Her family comes first, “My kids are six and three. This is the time in their lives where they need my quality time. So that’s my priority.”
Shajahan thankfully has support at home, “I am married. I have my husband here but I don’t have any other immediate family. They’re all back home in India, so that is also a challenge sometimes. If there is something with the kids, my husband and I have to organize our time so one of us can stay with them. If we are both busy, that’s difficult. We have to find balance and that’s hard when you are working and going to school.”
That busy schedule hasn’t stopped Shajahan from trying to learn as much as she can. When she isn’t in class or hanging out with her family, she’s reading and networking with others in her field, “When I get some time, I’ll just try to look for some professional articles related to the classes I’m taking. I might be having some conversations with people whom I can find on social media huddles or also looking up some business opportunities where I can set up my own diagnostic center in the future.”
Even with the added challenge of having a young family, Shajahan wouldn’t have it any other way, “CSI has a flexible platform where they give the students the opportunity of taking the classes both in person and the rest of the time you can be online in the hybrid program. That wasn’t the case before. On top of that, they offer CPT and OPT which is very wonderful.”
Don’t let a busy lifestyle, a job, or even a family slow down your career goals. If you’re interested in an F1 Visa, contact CSI today to learn how to get started.