Academic Advising Portfolio - Division of Continuing Education ...

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Brandon appears to be experiencing stress in anticipation of an event or “non‐event,” as
Schlossberg (1995) describes it (cited in Evans, Forney, & Guido‐DiBrito, 1998; Petitpas, Brewer,
& Van Raalte, 2009). The primary event/non‐event is Brandon’s acceptance (or nonacceptance)
into engineering; the secondary event/non‐event is keeping his place on the swim
team. As a sophomore having gone through now almost two full years of work toward these
goals, Brandon is anticipating “moving in” to this next phase of his life – a difficult, high‐stakes
major coupled with further sports competition (Evans et al., 1998, p. 112). To assist him in
gaining his bearings, it can be helpful to discuss with him Schlossberg’s 4 S’s: situation, self,
support, and strategies.
“Situation”
The “Situation” may be more clear cut than Brandon perceives; Brandon’s grades are
good enough to allow him to continue in engineering and he is not being asked to retire from
the swim team. The timing is not unexpected, as all students must declare their major by the
end of their sophomore year. Reinforcing that Brandon is a very likely candidate for the
engineering program may help ease anxiety that Brandon’s “self” is experiencing. It can also be
helpful at this point for the advisor to ask Brandon if there were other times in his life when he
went through a similar transition and how he was able to cope with those changes.
“Self”
Brandon’s “self” is expressed through negative expectations possibly due to familial
pressures attributable to his ethnic background. Brandon’s fear of failing out of his major,
which some may interpret as an overreaction, is consistent with Asian‐American academic
beliefs (Eaton & Dembo (1997) as cited in Sue & Sue, 2003). It is important that the advisor’s