These Four Siblings Graduated From The School For Advanced Studies—The Youngest Finished In May
Pakistani natives Faisal Imtiaz Mohammad and Shahla Mohammad worried that their four American children—Hisham, Waleed, Sameer and Raania—would lose focus studying in what they view as a lax college culture in the United States.
So the Mohammads sought an educational program that could foster their children’s talents and prepare them for success after college.
When they stumbled across Miami Dade College’s School for Advanced Studies—a selective program for high-performing high school juniors and seniors who graduate with a high school diploma and an associate’s degree at the same time—they were sold.
Sixteen years later, all four siblings have graduated from SAS. Raania, the youngest, earned an associate’s degree in psychology this May.
“SAS was that springboard to propel my siblings and I to go forward,” said Hisham, the first to attend the program. “It was a mixture of individual determination and support from family, friends and the school with the resources they provide.”
The School for Advanced Studies was ranked as the fifth best high school in the United States—and tops in Florida—by the U.S. News & World Report last May. The program includes almost 800 students from the Wolfson, North, Kendall, West and Homestead campuses who are often admitted to the nation’s top schools and receive prestigious scholarships.
“We provide the instruction and structure for students to grow and develop,” said SAS Principal Omar Monteagudo.
Hisham Mohammad
After attending Miami Killian Senior High School, the now 31-year-old smoothly transitioned into SAS. He enjoyed getting a headstart in college and being surrounded by people who were motivated to be successful.
Hisham knew growing up that he wanted his career to involve numbers, so he decided to major in accounting.
At SAS, he attended math competitions with Mu Alpha Theta, the mathematics honor society for high school and two-year college students. He also joined Interact, a club focused on international community service, to participate in car washes and food drives.
After graduating in 2007 with an associate’s degree, Hisham transferred to Florida International University and earned a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in accounting in 2010 and 2014 respectively.
He is currently a certified public accountant and has worked as a corporate controller—by supervising all accounting and financial functions—for the multinational mining company Aura Minerals for the past two years.
“We found SAS by asking the right questions, and sometimes that’s all you have to do to find gold,” Hisham said.
Waleed Mohammad
Looking to become a doctor, Waleed was attracted to the program by the opportunity to finish part of his education early because a medical education can take between 10-14 years. He joined SAS after spending his first two years of high school at Coral Reef Senior High School.
He earned a pre-bachelor of arts associate’s degree in 2009 and transferred to FIU, where he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in psychology three years later. While studying at FIU, he started working as a medical scribe—a person who transcribes information during medical visits into electronic records under supervision—in the emergency department at West Kendall Baptist Hospital for three years.
Waleed attended medical school at the University of Central Florida and earned a doctor of medicine degree in 2018.
He has lived in Detroit, Michigan, since 2019. Waleed, 29, is in his third year of an orthopedic surgery residency at Ascension Providence Hospital and hopes to become an orthopedic trauma surgeon.
“SAS was a time of personal and educational growth,” Waleed said. “I will always be grateful for the opportunity to go through the program.”
Sameer Mohammad
After seeing how beneficial SAS was for his two older brothers, Sameer followed in their footsteps and joined the program in 2010. The now 27-year-old enjoyed repairing and selling cell phones, iPads and laptops growing up so he decided to study business.
Once he transferred from Miami Killian Senior High School, it took Sameer a semester to adjust to SAS. Eventually, he improved his time management and found a study pattern that worked for him.
He graduated from SAS in 2012. Two years later, he earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration/management and finance from FIU.
Even though Sameer wanted to be a businessman when he was younger, his father always asked him to consider being a lawyer because he was good at arguing his points. In August 2015, he joined the FIU’s law school.
He has worked as a litigation attorney in the real estate industry for the past two years and hopes to open his own law firm in the future.
“I want to be able to provide my family and future generation the same blessings I received through SAS,” Sameer said.
Raania Mohammad
Raania, 17, recalls accompanying her parents to pick up her brothers at MDC and being asked by an SAS counselor if she was going to continue the family streak. She joined the program in 2019 to achieve academic excellence while graduating college debt-free.
During her two years at SAS, Raania organized the basic layout of some yearbook pages for the SAS literary magazine. She was also a member of the National English Honor Society during her last year and participated in community service activities, food drives and book donations.
She will transfer to FIU in the fall to work on a bachelor’s degree in psychology. Raania said she feels prepared for the challenge because SAS taught her how to succeed in a high-stress environment.
In the future, she wants to work as a therapist.
“Because of SAS, I won’t feel completely lost when transferring,” Raania said.
The headshots of Hisham, Sameer and Raania Mohammad used in this article were taken by Reporter photo editor Danna Quintero. The photo of Waleed was provided by the family.
