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Career Case Study
Amy Martinez
EPSY 6711: Career Counseling
March 12, 2013
Dr. Roy
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Student’s Demographics:
SM (Sarah) is a 13-year-old female in the 8th grade. She attends Roosevelt Middle School in
Oakland, California, but currently lives in Hayward, California. The reason she has not attended
school in Hayward is because her mother works at a middle school near her current school as a
custodian, and it is easier for her to get dropped off. She also frequently stays with her
grandparents after school because they live near Roosevelt. Recently Sarah disclosed to me
that her mother and stepfather have been fighting a lot and are potentially getting a divorce.
Because of their fighting, Sarah has been staying more and more with her grandparents in
Oakland, sometimes up to a week at a time, and could potentially be moving to Texas at the
end of the month to be closer to her mother’s family.
Roosevelt middle school is located in East Oakland, in the San Antonio Park District. It
serves 654 students of the following ethnicities: 22% African American or Black, 38% Asian, 35%
Hispanic or Latino, and 1% Caucasian. 75% of the students are socioeconomically disadvantage,
10% have a disability, and 52% speak English as a second language. The average teacher to
student ration in class is around 22:1. Though students at the middle school level usually get
pushed into high school, regardless of whether they passed the 8th grade or not, at the high
school level the district graduation rate last year was 58%. Even though this number is below
the state average for graduation rates, it has steadily been increasing over the last few years (it
was at 54% last year).
Sarah is Latina and lives with her mom and stepfather. Her biological father died when
she was a toddler, and none of her parents have been to college. As mentioned previously, her
mother is potentially getting a divorce soon, so Sarah and her mother will be living off her
mother’s custodial salary. She would be the first in her family to attend college, but will have
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some financial difficulty getting there. Sarah will need to rely on financial aid in order to pay for
her undergraduate education. She enjoys school and wants to continue her education past
high school and attend college.
Student’s Attributes:
Academically, Sarah is strongest with English. Her test scores and class grades are highest in
this subject. She also really enjoys her 8th grade physical science class and enjoys working on
labs and projects. Sarah is also an avid reader and is interested in many different book series.
The genre she most enjoys is supernatural adult literature, and is currently reading the Fallen
series. Her reading and comprehension levels are high, and she has no problem tackling books
that are lengthy in content. She scored Basic on her last CST in English, which is her strongest
test score across subjects. Sarah is very interested in her future, and worked with me at the
beginning of the school year to choose a High School. We looked at information such as a
location, transportation, classes available, and academies she was interested in applying for.
Her biggest interests involved schools where there were programs that involved the health
field, and was looking at a high school that had a Health and Science Academy, as well as a
small school that focused entirely on health and biological sciences.
Sarah is very dedicated to her cat and enjoys interacting with animals. She currently does
not have any extra curricular activities, but enjoys working with art and being creative. She
performs in the choir at school, and enjoys her evolvement with the group. Sarah also attends
a nearby church, and enjoys interacting with her peers at church functions.
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Student’s Limitations:
There are many challenges facing Sarah that could impact her career path. Her mother
and stepfathers impending divorce is drastically affecting how Sarah concentrates in school. She
is very uncertain of where she will be living in the next year, and especially where she will be
going to high school. Currently she is planning on attending high school in Oakland, but if she
ends up moving to Texas with her mother next month, she will need to transition to a new high
school with structures she is unfamiliar with.
Financially the family is lower middle class, but if her stepfather and mother divorce, she
will be in a single parent household. As her mother is a school custodian, their annual income
would not be enough to support college tuition. Because of this, Sarah would need to apply for
financial aid, as well as hopefully attain some scholarships.
The final challenge facing Sarah is her current grades and comprehension in class. Her
math CST scores show she is Far Below Basic, and Sarah has trouble solving simple algebraic
expressions. She is very behind on her math skills currently and would need a lot of outside
tutoring, which the family cannot afford. The school has limited resources, and the after
school-tutoring program only helps with current homework, not with pushing students forward
with past skills. Besides her low math skills, Sarah also has very low grades in her classes across
the board. She is currently failing half of her 8th grade classes, only passing her P.E., Choir, and
English class. If her failing grades continue through high school they will pose serious
challenges for not only getting into college, but graduating from high school.
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Student’s desired paths:
Sarah and I have been discussing her interests and possible career paths, and she is
confident she wants to finish high school and go onto college. Her biggest interest is going into
the medical field. She’s not sure what she wants to do, but is interested in being a doctor or a
nurse. We have also looked at other career paths in the medical field, including nurse
practitioners and radiologists. Sarah seems interested in all of them, and is not sure which one
she would prefer the most. Since she’s in 8th grade, we discussed how her interests in high
school would also shape her desired career path, and if she decides she does not like the
science and math classes necessary for a medical career, she would still have time to decide on
a career that matches her interests better.
Assessment and recommendations for the student’s career path:
For my assessment of Sarah I used the online website California Career Zone. Through
this website we discovered that Sarah’s Holland’s Personality Code was A.S.I. (Artistic, Social,
and Investigative). On this site, the only career that matched all three personality codes, in
order, was Interpreter. Though Sarah does speak Spanish, this career did not seem to fit with
what she was interested in. She does not mind working in small groups, but prefers either
working independently, or with a partner. I explored the ASI code on a few other Holland’s
websites, and was able to get more recommendations for possible careers that would match all
three. The first that I felt was a good fit for Sarah was an editor. Sarah does really well on her
writing and reading comprehension tests, in addition to being an avid reader. I feel like an
editing job would give her the opportunity to read lots of material, which she really enjoys
doing. The second career that fit with Sarah’s personality was a writer. Similar to being an
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editor, being an author would allow Sarah the opportunity to create her own stories. Though
both of these careers are very different from her desired career path of medicine, I feel like
they are more accessible for Sarah. Her math skills are very low, and although she enjoys her
science class, her comprehension of the material is also very low. Any career in the medical
field would require a great understanding of both of these subjects and Sarah does not
currently have much interest in either. I think a career that is geared toward the humanities
would better suit Sarah and give her the opportunity to excel in a career she enjoys.
Conclusion:
In order to attend college, Sarah is going to need a lot of extra resources to help support
her. She will need to make sure she applies for Financial Aid by filling out the FAFSA, as well as
getting support on how to fill out her college applications. Since it is likely she will be in a single
parent household very soon, I also recommend that Sarah consider going to community college
for her general education credits first, and then transferring to either the CSU or UC systems in
the state. This would allow her to save tuition her first two years, as well as receive a
discounted tuition later for in state tuition. If she ends up moving to Texas, I recommend she
do the same thing, but apply to the state schools near her home instead. I have attached a
sample resume we created together, with all of the personal information (name, address,
phone number, etc.) changed for confidentiality.
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Sarah Rodriguez
123 Rainbow Road, Hayward, CA 94702
(510) 444-2356
Sarah.Rodriguez@gmail.com
Professional Objective:
To obtain a summer internship at the YMCA PG&E Teen Center Youth Institute.
Education:
Roosevelt Middle School
8th Grade Class of 2013
Oakland, CA
Skills:
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Verbally fluent in Spanish
Dedicated hard-working individual with a positive attitude and ability to grasp concepts
easily
Proficient using both Windows and Mac OS computer systems
Proficient with Microsoft Word and PowerPoint
Able to solve engineering challenges and create productive solutions
Activities/Hobbies
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Participated in the school Science Fair from 2011-2013
Designed a Rube-Goldberg Machine for the school’s Engineering Design Challenge
Attend church youth group weekly
Avid reader of young adult supernatural thrillers
Participated in the school choir from 2011-2013