This study examined the perceptions of 10 African American 12th-grade students from one suburban high school regarding their high school career counseling experiences. The purpose was to better understand how students perceive their career counseling interactions and to ascertain what factors were relevant in the counseling relationship. An individual, in-person interview was conducted with each participant. An analysis of the individual interviews was conducted which yielded a number of themes that were relevant to each participant. A further analysis of all 10 student cases collectively identified eight themes that emerged as common amongst multiple participants. The common themes were: (a) counselors need to be a useful resource, (b) counselors need to emotionally connect with students, (c) counselors need to be personable, (d) students did not seek career development assistance, (e) students judged counselors based on observations of work ethic (f) college-bound students reported similar counseling needs, (g) male students reported generally favorable experiences, and (h) counselor demographics not mentioned. These themes identify characteristics of the counseling relationship that the participants found significant to them. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]