** Student’s name has been changed for privacy.
Mark is a Senior at Lewisville High School this year. He had previously been on the CIS caseload in 2019-2020, but was unable to work with CIS in the 2020-2021 school year due to the COVID-19 pandemic and online learning. Andrea Sholin, CIS Site Coordinator at LHS Main, has worked with Mark since the beginning of the school year in August. When she first met Mark, Ms. Sholin noticed that although Mark would be chatty with his friends, he tended to be more reserved in the CIS room. However, after building rapport, Mark began to open up to Ms. Sholin and would stop by the CIS room to have conversations and joke around.
Mark has many commitments both at home and in school, and has struggled in the past with balancing all of his responsibilities. Mark has several siblings, and felt the pressure to succeed and be a good role model. He strives to do good in school and get good grades, as there are strict expectations put on him regarding academics. In addition, Mark is a part of the Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) elective course that helps prepare students for college readiness and success, as well as the ROTC program on campus. Mark would often become overwhelmed with everything, on top of struggles with not knowing what he wanted to do and balancing academics, graduation preparation, college applications, and more.
Mark wants to pursue a career in dental hygiene, and has been receiving support from Ms. Sholin through FAFSA application assistance, researching dental assistant programs, and more. Mark also attends a college and career readiness group and a “how to adult” group that are hosted by Ms. Sholin. In the “how to adult” group, students are able to practice money management and life skills needed post-graduation. Students pretend that they’ve already graduated and are living independently. Each student has a zip lock with fake money and has planned out expected costs of living that they need to manage. Mark, in particular, looked up the gross salary of a dental assistant, and it has been helpful for him to gain a sense of realization of what his future may look like. Having exposure to some of these critical life skills earlier on has proved to be beneficial, and Mark feels more prepared for what is to come in the future.
Consistently attending groups and going to the CIS room has helped Mark to remain grounded. Mark has applied to a few local programs in order to pursue dental hygiene, and is working hard towards graduation. Ms. Sholin and Mark have built a good relationship, where Mark knows that he can come and ask for help regarding college and academics. Ms. Sholin says, “I am truly excited to continue seeing him succeed and what school he gets into.” Mark knows that he always has someone to turn to for support at CIS, and we are so proud of all of his hard work!
