College and Career Individual Case Study

Background Information
Logan Smith* is a 17-year-old, white, cis-gendered male. He is the 11th grade, Junior, at

Foothill High School who plays for the varsity Football and Lacrosse teams. He enjoys playing

music in a band with his friends as well as in his local church. His parents are both highly

educated as his mother is a school principal for an elementary school in a different district who is

currently pursuing a Ph.D. and his father is a medical sales representative. Logan has one sister

who is currently attending a four-year university out of state. They live as a family in the Tustin

area.

Academically speaking, Logan has performed well. His past test scores reflect what is

expected of students at that developmental level. He currently works for a local restaurant

bussing tables and washing dishes. He speaks of the sense of freedom this job has given him by

allowing him to make his own money and making him feel like a “grown-up”.

When discussing his post-secondary plans, Logan expressed a desire to pursue the music

industry and attend a school that has a program dedicated to music production. He often speaks

of the pressure placed on him by his parents to pursue higher education. However, while

interviewing Logan it became clear that he had not made his mind up yet about the post-

secondary path he wishes to pursue. Despite his ambivalence about which path to choose, Logan

seems motivated to please his parents and to prove to them he is putting in an effort. Through

speaking with the parents I have found that the parents are planning on financing their son’s

education. This is a source of pressure for Logan, but he has expressed

Counseling Theories
In working with this student, I chose to look through a trait-and-factor lens in order to

find a path that best fits my student. Due to the pressure placed on the student from his parents, I
wanted Logan to gain a sense of autonomy through this process. Trait-and-factor theories

highlight the importance of finding a match between an individual’s personality and a work

environment (Curry & Milsom, 2017). The theory suggests that by knowing oneself and

knowing occupational aspects, a student can make an informed decision. It pushes the student to

be an expert on themselves and let their preference guide their decisions. When Logan started

coming to weekly check-ins, it became clear that he could benefit from this type of college and

career counseling.

Counseling Assessments, strategies, and/or interventions

In order to approach this case from a trait and factor perspective, the student took a series

of personality tests that gave him more information about different career paths that are predicted

to be suitable for that personality. Prior to this process, Logan spoke of his dreams to move

somewhere far away from California to pursue a career in the music industry.

Holland Code: Based on his results from the IIP RIASEC Makers, Logan’s Holland score was

AES (Artistic, Enterprising, Social). His highest score was for the artistic occupational interest.

Myers-Briggs Personality: Based on results from the 16Personalities Online Quiz, Logan’s

personality type was ENFP-T (Extraverted, Intuitive, Feeling, Prospecting, Turbulent). Some

common careers that have been associated with this personality type include education, customer

or public relations, hospitality, media and entertainment, and the service industry.

Career Zone: Because Logan expressed interest in pursuing music, after our first session I gave

him the homework to look through the programs and universities on the CareerZone website to

see which looked interesting. During our second meeting, he told me that he was particularly

interested in Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee. I used this as an opportunity to explore

what life would look like if he pursued this route in his four-year plan. In this chosen route,

Logan would pursue a major in Recording Arts Technology. He had also explored other routes to
getting this degree, like community college and other program options. Ultimately when putting

together his ideal four-year plan, Logan chose the Belmont route as the right fit.

College & Career Assessment Summary

When we initially began, I asked Logan the questions “If you could be anything when

you’re older, what would it be?” Quickly a smile grew on Logan’s face, and he replied “a

rockstar!” He giggled and then talked about how he wished he could find a career in music.

Logan had been referred to me by his mother and my supervisor for academic counseling. It

became clear that creating a four-year plan with this student would give him some direction and

organization. In our weekly check-ins, we put together schedules for the week and go over

college and career readiness.

According to the first year in his four-year plan, Logan has obtained an internship

opportunity with his church to play and record music. This opportunity will allow Logan to gain

experience in music recording and become more familiar with the equipment. Throughout the

semester, Logan and his band continued to pursue performance opportunities and even took

lessons to improve their songwriting and instrumental skills. These opportunities will all allow

him to build a better resume and gain relevant experience in the field. In the future, the second

year focused on maintaining a solid GPA throughout his senior year in order to increase his

chances of getting admitted into the college of his choosing. The third and fourth years of

Logan’s four-year plan saw him attending Belmont University in Nashville Tennessee and

continuing to gain experience in the field by continuously seeking out opportunities.

In the final stages of our college and career counseling journey, Logan and I discussed

the next steps and what it would look like to be dedicated to finding the right career path for him.

We were able to meet with the college and career counselor that works at Foothill high school to

ensure that he feels supported in post-secondary even when I am gone. We also introduced him
to the Naviance system that is utilized by Foothill and showed him the different features that

might be helpful in his future college and career exploration. Finally, we made a plan to check in

periodically throughout the next semester to check progress and to provide Logan with any

support he may need.