The Case of Lena

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The Case of Lena

Lena, a community college freshman, has stopped by to discuss her plans for spring enrollment. Lena was a good student in high school graduating with a 3.2 cumulative grade point average and was actively involved as her senior class treasurer. Lena was confident that she would be successful in college and was excited to be the first person in her family to attend college. With her experience working in her family’s Latina grocery store and as class treasurer, Lena was certain that she would excel as a business major. Upon completion of the associate in business degree, Lena hopes to transfer to the local four-year university to obtain her bachelor’s degree in business. Although it is a struggle for her family, they are encouraged that with a business degree, their daughter will one day be able to find a good paying job. When you ask her what field of study she would like to focus on in business, Lena replies that she did not know there was a choice. Lena says that her first semester went pretty good with her general education course work. However, she is disappointed that she received a D in her introductory business class. She notes that she found the financial concepts difficult to understand and she is beginning to question her ability to be successful (Hughey, Nelson, Damminger & McCalla-Wriggins, 2009).

Lena talks about how interesting the psychology course was and that she even volunteered to participate in a research study being conducted by a psychology faculty member. Lena indicates that she would like to take additional courses in psychology but that her parents are adamant that she obtain a degree that will allow her to earn a good salary. Lena thinks out loud, “What could I possibly do with a degre...

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...ery: Group strategies. In V. N. Gordon, W. R. Habley & T. J. Grites (Eds.), Academic advising: A comprehensive handbook (2nd ed., pp. 283). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

McDonald, D. (2010). Improving the academic success of Latino students. Academic Impressions. Retrieved from http://www.academicimpressions.com/news/improving-academic- success-latino-students

Milem, J.F., Chang, M.J., & Antonio, A.L. (2005). Making diversity work on campus: A research-based perspective. Washington DC: American Association of Colleges and Universities. Retrieved from http://www.aacu.org/inclusive_excellence/documents/Milem_et_al.pdf

Miller, M.A., & Murray, C. (2005). Advising academically underprepared students. Retrieved from NACADA Clearinghouse of Academic Advising Resources Web site http://www.nacada.ksu.edu/Clearinghouse/AdvisingIssues/Academically-Underprepared.htm

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