Valeria Ramirez Buenrostro came to the US to break into the film industry. With the help of CSI, she’s learning that the business side of entertainment plays an important role in its success.

Valeria Ramirez Buenrostro loves everything about movies. Her favorite film is The Wolf of Wall Street. When she isn’t watching movies, she’s writing scripts. Working in the film industry as a director or an actress is her dream. Right now, she’s opted for a life in Chicago instead of Hollywood.

Valeria has always understood the creative side of the industry because that’s what the world sees. When she came to the US from Mexico early this year, she enrolled in the Marketing Concentration, part of the Business Career Program at Computer Systems Institute. She is hoping learning more about what goes on behind the scenes will help her break into the entertainment industry. 

“My main thing is film. I moved here because I want to be a filmmaker,” says Valeria. “What I plan to do when I finish the program is do an OPT related to something with marketing in the film industry so that I can make more connections.”

OPT is Optional Practical Training. It’s a program where international students can gain work experience in their field of study once they finish their coursework. There is an application process and students must be approved before they can start working. One requirement is that the work must be in their concentration. Valeria understands this, “I know the OPT has to be related to my career, so marketing and film would be amazing to me, so that’s what I hope to do.”

Learning from Other International Students

Valeria attends classes as part of CSI’s hybrid program. Much of her work is done online but her in-person experiences are on the campus in Chicago. One of her favorite parts about the program has been the diversity of the people she is meeting, “I have a lot of classmates who are Chinese, Korean, Russian, from Latin America, Columbia, Venezuela, and it’s super interesting. 

“I know a lot about Latin American culture but I didn’t know about Asian culture, so I’ve been able to learn about them and the differences that exist,” she says.

Culture isn’t the only thing she is learning from her classmates. Valeria is 19 years old and is much younger than many of the people she has met at school. Many of them have work experience or degrees from their home countries. Others are just starting out. She said meeting these people has helped put things in perspective, “I didn’t start a bachelor’s at 18 so I feel like I might be too old, but a lot of them are starting at 25 or 26. Learning about their experiences and knowing that it’s okay to wait has been important for me.”

She admires her older classmates because of how hard they work and the sacrifices they’ve made to achieve their goals. Many of them inspire her, “They show me that there is always time to keep working on my dreams. Not to give up. Sometimes I feel like I’m running out of time but my classmates who are older still want to get their bachelors degrees and go to work.”

Entrepreneurship at CSI

Although Valeria has not changed her mind about working in the film industry, she is seeing other opportunities outside of the creative side, “Honestly, when I moved here my main focus was to be a film director or actress. But when I started the marketing program- I now can see that it’s essential for film,” she says.

Some of the things she has learned in class has got her thinking about starting her own business someday, “In the courses we learn a lot about entrepreneurship. I am thinking about the idea of one day, in the future, opening a film production studio.” She would even consider doing something that ties her interests together, “I am learning the path to grow and have a new dream that I would like to achieve in the future. I am interested in the business side of the film industry,” she says. 

CSI has definitely opened her eyes to this, “It’s an aspect that I’d never thought about. Not just the creative part, but the business part.”

Valeria is in the US with her older brother and being an entrepreneur runs in the family, “He’s in the restaurant world and opened a bar in Logan Square, so that’s his thing. I have my thing, so we don’t really see each other a lot.”

With her brother being so busy with his business, Valeria says that she spends a lot of time by herself. She is starting to get to know her classmates, which she enjoys. Besides spending time making new friends, the flexibility of the hybrid program has given Valeria opportunities to explore another hobby, “I like to go to coffee shops. I’m a coffee addict and like to discover a lot of new spots.” There’s a reason she opts for coffee, “I’m not old enough to drink so I can’t go to bars, so I just go to coffee shops instead.”

The CSI Experience

Valeria has big goals for her future. She would eventually like to get a bachelor’s degree. For now, she is loving her time at CSI. The advice she has for international students is to just get started, even if they aren’t quite sure about what path to take, “The good thing about CSI is there are a lot of programs; business programs, marketing, programming, even healthcare. So if you don’t like one you always have the choice to transfer to another option. Do your research, try it out, and know if it doesn’t work out that you have plenty of others.” 

While she continues along her path to her dream career, she sees value in what she is doing because it will make her a better filmmaker in the end, “I try to learn as much as I can. Also the connections I make are good,” she says. “The business advantage of making connections with real people from different cultures and learning about other parts of the world; these are things that aren’t always shown on American TV and movies.” 

If you’re interested in a career path that CSI doesn’t offer, you might be surprised to learn that a lot of what we have might make you better at your future job. Contact us to talk about the different options available.