PEPSI Screening 1

PEPSI Screening

Margarita Hernandez

Department of Education, College of Southern Nevada

EDU 220: Principles of Educational Psychology

Dr. Rochelle Hooks

November 14, 2021

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Biography

Jazmin Hernandez is seventeen years old and is currently a senior in High school who is

preparing to graduate soon. She was born and raised in Las Vegas, Nevada and her parents are

from Mexico. She is the youngest in her family, she has three older siblings two older brothers

and an older sister. She lives with her mom and dad along with her older sister and one of her

older brothers. Her oldest brother has started his own family and lives away from the family. She

is very family oriented and holds her family very close to her. She also holds the fact that she is

Hispanic to be very important to her and makes a point to involve herself with the Hispanic part

of her community.

She enjoys school and likes being able to learn new things and be around her friends. She

takes Honors and Advanced Placement (AP) classes as well as Dual Credit and Career and

Technical Education (CTE) classes. She hopes to gain some college credit before graduating

High School through these different classes. Her favorite subjects are English and Social Studies

and her least favorite is Math. She has plans to go onto college after graduating High school and

plans to pursue a career in Nursing. She enjoys being creative and takes a dance class that

specializes in Ballet Folklorico which is a traditional Mexican dance style. She is also a part of

two major clubs at her school Student Council and Hispanic Student Union (HSU). She enjoys

being involved in different events and building on her leadership skills. She also joined these

clubs in order to become more confident in herself and to help her school and her community.

She enjoys being able to hang out with her friends in these two clubs and attend events

with them. She has had the same friends and friend group since middle school in which they all

attended the same school. She values their friendships very highly as well as their opinions.
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Physical Development

Jazmin currently weighs about 175 pounds and is about 5 feet with 5 inches or 165

centimeters. Her BMI is 28.36 and according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention

(CDC), her “BMI-for-age places her in the 95th percentile for girls at the age of 17 years old”

(Center for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2001). As Jazmin is in the 95 th percentile for

girls she is considered to be obese for girls her age based on her BMI. Jazmin has no major

health issues such as asthma or diabetes. She is susceptible to diabetes and high blood pressure

from both her mother’s and father’s side. Her being considered obese and having high

susceptibility for diabetes and high blood pressure can be very serious. If Jazmin does not take

care of her health, she may develop high blood pressure or diabetes later on.

Jazmin has been dieting often due to seeing herself as fat and being told she needs to lose

weight by her doctor. She does not like her body shape and wants to be skinnier. She often

compares her body with that of her peers and this causes her to stress over her body. “Anxiety

about the body or inability to accept the changes may result in obsessive attention to diet, weight

building or exercise”, Jazmin’s dieting has become obsessive and has begun to affect her eating

habits (Ellsworth). Jazmin has been dieting often and has been eating less and is showing signs

of anorexia nervosa an eating disorder, which is “characterized by a preoccupation with body

weight and food, behavior directed toward losing weight, peculiar patterns of handling food,

weight loss, intense fear of gaining weight, and a distorted perception of one’s body” (Snowman

& McCown, 2015). If she continues on with how she is dieting and how she is perceiving her

body she will most likely be diagnosed with anorexia nervosa.

Jazmin does exercise regularly since she takes her dance class which is one of her

electives and she has been dancing since her freshman year. With this exercise it is important for
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Jazmin to eat properly so she does not get sick or fatigued. With the change in her eating habits

exercising could hurt her is she choses to not eat anything before or after exercising.

Emotional Development

Jazmin has a strong relationship with her mother and father but sees them more as

authoritative figures. She respects them very much and her parents also have respect for her and

her decisions, but she always asks for their opinion and thoughts before deciding on or planning

major events in her life. “The adolescent children of parents who have an authoritative style, on

the other hand, are more likely to make decisions that are consistent with parental advice” this

follows Jazmin and her parents who have an authoritative parenting style as Jazmin follows her

parent’s advice when making decisions on different events (Snowman & McCown, 2015).

Regardless of this she still sees them as authoritative figures and often she feels as though she

cannot share her emotions or her thoughts with her parents. This makes her very sad and

frustrated as she cannot express her concerns to her parents.

This leads to her talking about her emotions and sentiments with her older sister who she

often views as very motherly. She has a very strong bond with her older sister even though they

have a seven-year age gap. She views her as a friend and a guardian and often looks to her for

advice when she is anxious or depressed. She finds it easier to share any emotions or thoughts

with her older sister but very difficult to express any emotions other then happiness or joy with

her parents. She also has a good relationship with her older brother but often argues and bickers

with him due to them being so close in age. There is a one-year age gap between them, and they

often argue over simple matters, but Jazmin often feels bad and apologetic afterwards. She hopes

to argue less with her older brother but is conflicted about how to do so. She also feels frustrated

and sad towards her other older brother as she feels she does not have a good relationship with
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him compared to her other siblings. There is about a fifteen-year age gap between them, and she

often feels troubled thinking about how to better their relationship.

There has been a major shift in Jazmin now as she is preparing to graduate high school.

She is very often feeling stressed and frustrated when dealing with school and the college

application process. She is also feeling depressed and sad quite often due to the end of her high

school career and thinking about how her relationships with her friends will continue after she

graduates. “Depressed mood is primarily characterized by feelings of sadness or unhappiness,

although emotions such as anxiety, fear, guilt, anger, and contempt are frequently present, as

well”, she has been feeling sadder knowing that she may lose some of her friendships after

graduating (Snowman & McCown, 2015). She has been feeling depressed thinking about how

she will have less time to meet with her friends due to school and work. As well as they will all

be busy with their own lives and preparing for adulthood. She also feels anxiety in leaving her

high school, friends and teachers who she has become familiar with for the past four years. She

worries about finding her way around her new school, if she can make friends in college and how

hard the work will be.

Jazmin has a slightly low self-esteem but does not let herself be affected by bullying. She

does not let people’s comments affect her and usually does a good job of being herself. She

attributes the fact that she is not bothered by other people’s comments to being a part of her

school’s Student Council. She has become more confident in herself and her abilities and can

handle her emotions better then when she was in her freshman year where she would easily be

affected by people’s comments towards her and become sad and depressed. But know in her last

year of High school she makes the connection of feeling the same as when she first entered High

school except this time, she is more prepared for the change and is better about staying true to
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herself. “The lessened need to be one type of person for peers helps a sense of integrity to

formulate”, Jazmin has become more confident in herself and her choices and does not let

people’s comments dictate who she is (Ellsworth). Instead, she has grown in balancing her

motions and uses it to work on building her self-esteem.

Philosophical Development

Jazmin is not as rebellious for a teen she holds her parents respect for her very dearly and

tries to not cause trouble for them compared to many other adolescents who act rather rebellious

during this period of their lives. Jazmin is very respectful towards adults like her parents and

teachers and is very obedient when it comes to the school’s rules and policies. This has followed

her into learning how to drive as she has recently start to drive, she takes much caution when

driving and does her best to uphold the rules of the road. “The student may begin to identify

beyond adolescence and peerage to member of community. If so, then moral reasoning will focus

on protecting the society and following community guidelines”, Jazmin sense of moral reasoning

has grown now that she is in the stage of late adolescence (Ellsworth). She now focuses on

following community guidelines and protecting society by following the rules of the road and

focusing on becoming a good Samaritan.

She has created her own moral code and reasoning to help her identify her ideas of what

good and bad are as well as what rules she follows. Following the rules of the road as well as the

rules that regular citizens should follow is something that Jazmin does out of agreement. “Rules

needed to maintain the social order should be based not on blin obedience to authority but on

mutual agreement”, Jazmin chooses to follow the rules set by authority because she also believes

that they are rules that should be followed to ensure societies safety (Snowman & McCown,

2015). If we compare Jazmin and her moral reasoning, she would be placed at stage 5 of
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Kohlberg’s Stages of Moral Development. She has her own ideas of what is good and what is

bad and chooses to follow the rules set by authority figures like her parents, teachers, and the

government because she agrees with them and believe they are beneficial to those who they

apply to. Such as following the speed limit and other rules set by society. Jazmin follows these

rules and tries to protect others’ rights “while at the same time hoping that her rights will also be

protected” (Snowman & McCown, 2015). Jazmin believes in making sure other peoples rights

are protected but also her own since she has seen instances in which others’ rights have not been

protected. She hopes that if she is following and agreeing on the rules set by authority figures

that her rights will also be protected by those authority figures.

Social Development

Jazmin has been frustrated with the college application process her parents are pushing

her to go to school somewhere in state and in her hometown of Las Vegas. Jasmin has thought of

attending a school out of state however she believes that staying in state would be the best

decision and agrees with her parents to stay in state. Since she is a first-generation college

student, she looks to her older sister for advice regarding her post education. She is influenced by

her older sister’s post education plans and has chosen to follow the same path as her and attend

the College of Southern Nevada (CSN) and then transfer to the University of Las Vegas Nevada

(UNLV) after she receives her associates. “Parents and other adults are likely to influence long-

range plans”, Jazmin’s following of her parent’s decision to stay in state and following her

sisters post education plan shows how much her major plans like post education are influenced

by the adult figures in her life (Snowman & McCown, 2015).

Jazmin also hopes to attend the CSN with her friends who are also planning on attending

that school. Other than her parents the influence of her friends who will also attend CSN has
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pushed Jazmin to stay in state and attend that school. She plans to take the same classes as her

friends so to be able to help each other study. One of her friends is also pursuing a career in

nursing and hopes to stick with Jazmin through out the course of getting their associates and

transferring to UNLV. Jazmin wants to stick by her friend’s side and will follow her so that they

take the same classes and transfer at the same time. Along with wanting to take the same classes

as her friends she also joined her two major clubs Student Council and HSU because of her

friends. A few of Jazmin’s friends joined these clubs or were already apart of them and

convinced Jazmin to join so that they can all attend different events together. “When adolescents

look for models and advice on such social matters as dress, hairstyle, speech patterns,

friendships, and leisure activities, the peer group is likely to have the greatest influence (as a visit

to any high school will reveal)”, Jazmin joined her leisure activities following her friends

influences of being in those clubs (Snowman & McCown, 2015). She has also had the same

friend group since middle school, and they all seem to have similar speech patterns and the same

friendships within there group.

Jazmin is worried about what she will do after she leaves Highschool she wants to start

working to be able to save money for college and to assist her parents in paying for her post

education. She also wants to start working to be able to have her own money to spend like her

friends instead of asking her parents of spending money. She is influenced by the fact that many

of her peers are getting or already have jobs and hopes to work as well. “Many high school

students are employed after school. For any number of reasons, a fair percentage of high school

students have part-time jobs during the school year”, she hopes to start a job with the approval of

her parents (Snowman & McCown, 2015). She hopes to be able to use the money she earns to

hang out with her friends and do things like go out to eat with them and buy new clothes.
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Intellectual Development

As mentioned in the biography Jazmin takes AP, Honors, Dual credit and CTE classes.

She has been taking Honors classes since middle school and AP classes since her junior year. AP

classes or Advance Placement classes are more advanced than Honors classes and are worth

college credit if the student passes an exam at the end of the year. Jazmin has also taken CTE

classes since sophomore year that help prepare her for a career in nursing. Jazmin has also taken

Dual credit classes since this year her senior year. She reads at a college reading level and she

dislikes math and struggles with math problems. She enjoys science and grasps the concepts

quickly along with social science. She enjoys English and is often tasked with writing college

style papers which she does not have a problem with writing essay and following the formal

writing process. “These students are more likely than younger students to grasp relationships,

mentally plan a course of action before proceeding, and test hypotheses systematically”, Jazmin

can mentally plan for different courses of action before proceeding with assignments given to her

by her teachers. (Snowman & McCown, 2015). Jazmin also uses formal thought process to help

her come up with thoughts and ideas. These “thoughts and ideas appear to be ways to solve

problems and facilitate change” these changes for Jazmin are ways to help her community

(Ellsworth). She often come up with ideas that she shares with her club on ways to solve

different problems around the school or in her community.

Jazmin thinks logically and can understand difficult theories. When she had taken her

ACT the past year, she received an slightly above average score of 22. This ACT test “contains

four multiple-choice tests—English, mathematics, reading, and science—and an optional

writing test. These tests are designed to measure skills that are most important for success

in postsecondary education and that are acquired in secondary education” (About the ACT
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Test). After Jazmin had taken this test on these core subjects, she received a score above average

then that of her peers.

As mentioned before Jazmin hopes to purse a career in nursing, she wants to be able to

help others and to think critically about how to best help patients. She hopes to make a difference

in the world by being able to help her patients. “The student often wishes to "change the world"

based on ideas and the shear will make a difference, solve problems”, just like how Jazmin wants

to make a difference many other adolescents want to change the world using their ideas and hope

to solve problems (Ellsworth).

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Recommendations

Regarding physical development for parents make sure that Jazmin is eating properly and

staying hydrated. If you see her eating habits worsen, take her to the doctor so she can be

diagnosed. She does seem to be affected slightly by her peers in thinking that her body type is

unattractive or fat. If you see her viewing pictures of models or of her peers and you find her

thinking thoughts such as “I am fat or I wish I was this skinny” stop her and offer words of

affirmation. Let her know that she is loved regardless of her body type and to not worry about

looking the same as other girls. Also, if you see her over working herself when exercising stop

her and tell her to slow down and pace herself. As for teachers specifically her dance teacher,

make sure to also tell Jazmin to pace herself if she seems to be overworking herself and if she

seems pale or is easily getting dizzy tell her to take a break and eat something. She may be

stopping herself from eating and then exercising roughly till she overworks herself. Which could

seriously injure her please calm her down and slow her down and offer her a bite of something

such as a granola bar or pretzels.

When it comes to emotional development for the parents try to keep an open mind when

it comes to listening to Jazmin. She finds it difficult to show emotions such as frustration,

sadness and worry towards her parents. Taking some time to ask her how she is feeling and

mentioning different emotions can help her see that you want to know when she is feeling sad or

frustrated. If the parents, try to make contact with her first she will see that it is okay to show and

tell her parents about how she is really feeling and allow her to ask for advice without fear of

how her parents may react. She respects them a lot and being able to properly show case her

emotions to her parents can help her create a better emotional connection with her parents.
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Jazmin is also hoping to create a better relationship with her siblings specifically her two

brothers. Having them spend some quality time together as a family such as them going out to

dinner together or visiting somewhere they can all enjoy can help her create memories with her

siblings. This can lead to her having pleasant memories involving her siblings and can help them

to better their relationships and help her to stop arguing with her brother as often. For both

parents and teachers paying attention to how she is feeling, and her emotions is very important.

Jazmin has been feeling rather depressed and stressed when dealing with her senior year and

what comes after she graduates. For the parents allowing her to participate in senior events with

her friends and spend time outside of school with them can help to reassure her that she can still

make time to spend with her friends. For teacher focusing on her mood and asking her if she

needs any help with the college application process or preparing for graduation can help to

lesson her stress and provide her with answers to any questions she might have. This can help her

to relax and stress less when dealing with school and her relationships with her friends.

Regarding philosophical development Jazmin is very obedient and follows the rules

especially when she understands why those rules are put in place and how they help others. For

teachers taking a second to explain why rules such as new school or classroom rules are put in

place to her will help her to understand them quickly and be able to agree with them if she

understands that it will help the other all good of the students or school. She does believe in her

rights being upheld as well as others. Therefore, if one of her classmates or herself is being

denied their rights in the classroom for example not being able to use the restroom, she may

decide to assist the student and fight for them. Although she is obedient since she does not follow

rules on blind obedience it may take some time for her to see why certain rules have been put in

place and whether they affect her ability to do something like wear this type of clothing or
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having this item on campus. For parents Jazmin again respects your decisions very much and so

the same with the teachers as an authority figure if place new rules for her such as a curfew

please take some time to discuss them with her so that she can understand them and agree with

them. There may be times when she will argue against certain rules if she believes that they do

not benefit either party or take away her rights to go out with friends or attend certain events. I

would recommend talking with her and adjusting these rules until both parties are happy and

settle on a mutual agreement.

Regarding social development for parents be patient with Jazmin she is trying to figure

out the college application process and all the steps she needs to take to enter college. She will be

relying on her older sister heavily around this time and takes her parents and older sibling’s

comments and opinions on these major decisions very highly. She would like to start working to

help earn money for college and will ask your opinions on the matter. Please weight your options

and take some time to discuss with her the good and bad sides to working now. As well as your

opinion on whether she should work, where, when and for how long. Discuss matters, such as

will she be okay with adding this to her already full plate as she has been feeling rather stressed.

Discuss if it will get in the way of school and other factors. She respects your decisions very

much so please take some time to discuss this topic with her. For her teachers Jazmin seems set

on staying in state for college and following the same post education plan as her sister. She wants

to pursue nursing so please take some time to answer any questions she may have regarding the

college application process. Please discuss with her any scholarships that she can apply for as a

minority and a member of two major clubs. Please also discuss with her about whether it is a

good idea to choose the same classes as her friends who will also be attending CSN with her.
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Regarding intellectual development Jazmin hopes to pursue nursing which is a difficult

field to be apart of for her family do your best to encourage her. She may find it difficult at first

but with her family’s encouragement she can have confidence to go through with this career. She

is above average as based off of her ACT scores and should not have a problem getting into what

ever college she would like. For teachers please also provide Jazmin with encouragement with

her schooling. Offer her assignments that allow her to think critically and logically this will help

her to better think and develop better thought processes. She enjoys coming up with solutions to

major problems and figuring out ways to make a difference. Encouraging her and providing her

with projects where she must come up with different solution will encourage her to think

logically.
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References

About the ACT Test. ACT. (n.d.). Retrieved November 7, 2021, from

https://www.act.org/content/act/en/products-and-services/the-act-educator/the-act-

test.html.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2001, August 23). Growth Charts - Data Table of

BMI-for-age charts. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved November 5,

2021, from https://www.cdc.gov/growthcharts/html_charts/bmiagerev.htm#females.

Ellsworth, J. A. (n.d.). Late Adolescence. ESE 504 Methods and Materials in Special Education.

Retrieved November 5, 2021, from

https://jan.ucc.nau.edu/~jde7/ese504/class/pepsi/reading2-1-2.html.

Snowman, J., & McCown, R. (2015). Psychology Applied to Teaching. Cengage MindTap (14th

ed.). Cengage learning. Retrieved November 2, 2021, from

https://ng.cengage.com/static/nb/ui/evo/index.html?deploymentId=4873562328928535023

9629057&eISBN=9781305390676&snapshotId=2593303&.