The Case of Tony

The Case of Tony
Introduction
Tony is a first semester senior in high school. His math teacher and computer science teacher have suggested that he meet with you. Although Tony is a very bright student, he doesn�t intend to go to college. Tony would be a first generation college student. His teachers think that maybe his lack of interest in college is because he doesn�t have anyone at home who can explain the benefits of a postsecondary education. Tony is not a typical high school student. He has been working for his father for several years and knows exactly what kind of job he loves. His father is a mechanic and owns an auto repair business. Tony works for his father and is a whiz at anything that involves technology and numbers. As a result, he has become the �go to� person in the business when there are new computer-based systems to learn. He is an independent learner and learns quickly. Typically, he will learn the new systems and then teach the other employees how to use them to repair the car�s systems. He is a trainer, manager, supervisor, and mechanic. He loves the work and wouldn�t think about letting his father down by going away to school. His family has been waiting for him to finish high school so he can move into a full-time position in the business.
Tony has taken a fairly typical college prep course load in high school. He was encouraged to take AP Math and AP Computer Science and is doing very well in those courses, along with his other courses. He has always been interested in cars but now that computers run just about everything in a car, he is even more excited about working on them. One more note about his high school experience� he hasn�t been involved in a lot of extra-curricular activities because he works after school and on weekends but he has tutored other students in the computer science classes and the teacher was very impressed with the quality of his work. In summary, school has been a positive place for him.
First Meeting with Tony
During your initial interview, Tony expressed confusion about why he was seeing you since he is clear about what he wants to do after high school. He respects his teachers and decided to come only because they asked him to. His parents know about the appointment and also feel that it is a sign of respect to abide by the teachers� wishes.
Question Set #1:
Now that you have read a brief bio of Tony, how would you work with him during your first hour together? Where would you begin? What would your goals be? Summarize the important issues. Is there a theory that would provide direction? If so, describe the theory and why you think it will be useful during your work with Tony. If not, what will you use as your �road map�?
Second Meeting with Tony
Tony did agree to come to a second meeting but he is bringing his parents so they can be part of the discussion. Something about the first meeting grabbed his attention. When you met before, he remembered that something of interest was on the Career Liftoff assessment that all sophomores take in high school. The second time that you meet with Tony he brings his CLII results. It shows that the highest scores are in Investigative and Realistic. He has a moderately high score in Enterprising. His highest skills areas were very similar. That wasn�t surprising, although he would not have predicted high scores in Enterprising. The results that really caught his eye were his suggested areas of interest on page 4. In those matches he saw the career of a Mechanical Engineer listed and he researched it further on O*Net. It listed that the job tasks are planning and directing research and development projects. It also mentioned working on machine designs and evaluating outcomes by performing advanced calculations while at the same time, working with the design folks, the manufacturing division, the branch of employees who assemble the machines and the sales engineers. Math was extensively used as were problem-solving skills and communication skills. Tony couldn�t stop thinking about how exciting it would be to have a job like that.
The second job of interest was a Computer Systems Analyst. This is a job that requires a Bachelor�s degree and includes designing, specifying and creating computer programs for a retail sales company. The individual creates software, tested software systems, investigates users� requirement and problem solves when needed. Again communication skills were very helpful in this job � something he knew he was good at.
Question Set #2:
Given his reactions and what you already know about Tony, where will you go from here? How will you approach this dilemma and �conflict� that is unfolding? How will you work with him and his family? Are there other resources you learned about in the course that you would also use with Tony?