For Shahzadi, life was not hard there in Pakistan - that is, until she lost her fourteen-year-old sister to cancer. With this loss, Shahzadi was now the oldest daughter and second oldest child in her family. "It was hard, losing a sister at such a young age." She recounts this experience as the inspiration to become a nurse. She explains: "I wanted to become a nurse to help people and help them get better and teach them to better take care of their health and also help my family.”
With the understanding that there were more opportunities abroad, Shahzadi's extended family brought her family to the United States in March 2010. Just eighteen years old, but with her brother back home and her parents unable to drive or speak English, Shahzadi became the driving force in her family with all the responsibilities of her home.
Having graduated from the Aga Khan Higher Secondary School, Shahzadi was eager to enroll in college, but faced many challenges. She was working full time to help support her family and to try to save up for school. This took a toll on her, and Shahzadi’s plan to attend college was pushed back in her attempt to get into nursing school. As the time came for her to try to enroll in school, she was unsure of the process and pressed for time. Shahzadi had to drive her parents to work and also take her younger siblings to places such as Religious Education classes. She remembers being lost in the process when she moved here, thinking to herself, "I will not be able to do anything."
Fortunately, the Houston Jamat and the Quality of Life (QOL) team stepped in to offer her guidance. The QOL program is about investing in people, in their intellectual pursuit, and search for new and useful knowledge, just as much as in material resources. In 2011, she started college at Houston Community College; by May 2014, Shahzadi had completed her Associate of Science degree and was one step closer to becoming a nurse.
Balancing nursing school with her responsibilities at home, became a challenge too. "I was not sure whether I wanted to do nursing because I was working and it was hard for me to take care of my family and go to school," Shahzadi explains. She could also not decide which school to attend.
Again, she sought advice from her local Jamat. The QOL team mentored her and helped find a way to balance her professional and personal responsibilities. Further, the team offered her a scholarship to enroll in classes while applying to nursing schools. In January 2015, Shahzadi started nursing school at the Houston Baptist University. In December 2016, she graduated, realizing her goal of becoming a registered nurse. Shahzadi credits the QOL intervention and the team’s support and advice, including academic counseling, and scholarships when she needed it the most.
Hers was a journey and endeavor rife with challenges. But Shahzadi says, "When you move to a new country, you struggle. If you stick to what you really want to do, when there is a will there is a way. To become a nurse was my goal, and despite the difficulties, I was able to reach my goal – thanks to the support of my Jamat and my family.” She now works at Memorial Hermann Hospital in Houston.
Shahzadi’s younger siblings respect her hard work, dedication and persistence to thrive for excellence, and want to follow her steps to pursue higher education. Her new goal is to share what she has learned in the classroom and use it to help others – an objective in line with the spirit of the Ismaili Jamat. Shahzadi would like to continue her education and ultimately become a nurse practitioner to help underserved people in the United States and in her home country of Pakistan.