Running head: INTERVIEW PAPER

Interview Paper
004106050
Wayne State University

INTERVIEW PAPER

2
Interview Paper

I conducted an interview with Anna Marie Riesterer who has been practicing Social Work
six for years. Mrs. Riesterer holds a limited license Bachelor in Social Work degree and
currently works at Easter Seals of Michigan as a Case Management Coordinator. The process of
calling around and visiting agencies to find a social worker to interview evoked many different
emotions such as frustration, disappointment, anxiety, discouragement and optimism.
Before I started the process of this interview assignment I thought it would be easy to
find a social worker to interview. I know that social workers are employed in so many places that
I visit regularly so finding one couldnt possibly pose as a problem. I was dead wrong. I first
went to a young lady who lives next door to my mother who had previously said to my mother
that she worked for the Department of Human Services. I dont know her personally and have
never really spoken to her except for saying hello, but I always see her car and she has a WSU
license plate and tassel hanging from her mirror. I asked if she was a social worker and she
replied, yes. I then asked her if she had her BSW from Wayne State and she replied, I actually
have my Bachelors in Sociology. At that moment I was crushed and a little bothered by the fact
that she felt it was ok to use the title of Social Worker when she in fact was not.
My next step was to compile a list of places to call in order to make sure I could keep
track and not call the same place more than once in the same day. This process turned out to be
very discouraging. I called over 23 numbers including the Macomb County Department of
Human Services, Macomb County Jail substance abuse line, C.A.R.E., New Oakland Family
Center, and other agencies. The first phone called was the most difficult, I was anxious because I
wasnt sure of the best way to explain what I needed. I was afraid of not explaining myself well
or not sounding intelligent enough. As I continued to call different places the process didnt get

INTERVIEW PAPER

any easier for me except for the fact that I had perfected the best way to request an interview
with a BSW. At some companies the person answering the phone had no clue as to what I was
looking for although I had explained it to them. Others simply gave me the run around leaving
me feeling frustrated. I did speak to a woman named Patricia Mazzola who was very helpful and
gave me the direct telephone number of a licensed Bachelor of Social Work. After speaking with
Patricia, for the first time during this process I felt optimistic about finding a social worker to
interview. I immediately called the phone number only to get a voicemail message stating that
the social worker would be out of the office until the following week. Again, I felt discouraged
and disappointed. I never received a callback from any of the social workers that I contacted.
This left me questioning the sincerity of social workers when they say, I want to help people. If
social workers are helpers, why couldnt I find one single social worker who was willing to help?
From making my phone calls I realized that I dont like asking people for help and that no
matter how simple the task youre asking, its never easy to ask. I thought back to my feelings
when I first started to call around looking for a psychologist for my son to start therapy.
Although I was calling for a different purpose, the emotions were the same. I know that if I felt
this way trying to get someone to grant me an interview or seeking a therapist for my son when I
have insurance, a person less fortunate or who has no insurance but needs help would find it
much more difficult to ask for help.
My interview with Mrs. Riesterer was very interesting. Mrs. Riesterer is a married mother
of two who decided to return to college at age 40. She studied at Macomb County Community
College off and on for approximately 11 years before transferring to Wayne State University.
This proved very difficult for her because during that time she suffered from agoraphobia, which
is an anxiety disorder characterized by a persons avoidance of situations where they may feel

INTERVIEW PAPER

helpless or embarrassed and unable to escape usually in public places or crowds. She took a
public speaking class which helped her cope with her agoraphobia. Mrs. Riesterer attended
Wayne State Universitys school of Social Work where she graduated in 2007 with her BSW.
She noted that one of her most interesting courses was a sociology elective for profiling serial
killers.
After graduation her first job was with a company called Foster Care where she worked
as a Case Manager. This position only required a bachelor degree. She worked with foster care
children and parents. She stayed in this position for six weeks and attributed this mainly to the
fact that she did not enjoy going to court. She realized this type of work was not for her and
decided to move on. She took a Community Specialist position with CARE of Southeast
Michigan. Her duties were within the Family-to-Family program working to connect families
to children within their community who were placed in foster care. She recruited foster care
families in an effort to keep children in the community in which they lived when they entered the
foster care system.
Mrs. Riesterers current position is a Case Manager for Easter Seals Michigan. Her job is
to work with 18 to 25 year old clients who are severely and persistently mentally ill. These
clients include individuals with schizophrenia, bi-polar disorder, D.I.D. (Dissociative Identity
Disorder) and other serious disorders. Her primary focus is to work directly with these clients in
an effort to help them manage their symptoms and to aid them in improving their quality of life.
She serves as a motivator, scheduler, and liaison between the client and psychiatrist. If it is
deemed necessary for a client to be hospitalized Mrs. Riesterer would be the person to prepare
the petition and certificate for hospitalization. She accomplishes her objectives in ways such as
taking them shopping, to restaurants, or just visiting them. She admits that her work can be

INTERVIEW PAPER

dangerous because she visits most of her clients outside of the agency setting. When asked if she
has ever been in a dangerous situation with a client or felt threatened she stated that she hadnt.
She elaborated by sharing that one new client whom she had never met threatened her indirectly
through the receptionist at her agency. She didnt feel threatened by this because the client had
never seen her so she had no way of carrying out her threat.
The agency is a non-profit organization and operates from grants and fundraising events.
One great thing I learned about the agency is that they use some of the fundraising money to help
clients with no insurance. According to Mrs. Riesterer her agency does micro work with its
individual clients, and mezzo work when dealing with the families of clients or when the client is
an entire family. The only indications she saw on the macro level is when they advocate for a
client to receive Medicaid benefits or deal with funding issues. Her opinion of her agency is
vague but she does believe they do as much as they can. One of her frustrations about the agency
is when they suffer from a lack of funding or limited resources. A reward for her is the ability to
connect clients with resources that prove to be valuable to them. She believes that an agency is
only as good as the funding provided.
When asked how she feels about her work and her overall effectiveness with her clients,
she responded, On average, I walk away feeling good about what Ive done at work. In my
opinion, a social worker cant ask for much more. You do as much as you can to assist your
clients but there is a limit to how much you can accomplish depending upon the individual client
and resources. Overall, she seemed to feel good about her work and is pretty happy with her
current employer.
After interviewing Mrs. Riesterer I felt optimistic about the job prospects after
graduation. The interview went very smoothly however it was a group setting and I would have

INTERVIEW PAPER

preferred a one-on one in order to tailor my questions more to my paper. Easter Seals of
Michigan sounds like a great place to work and their work is very challenging. I find it great that
they work with such a challenged population. The agency takes on many clients, and its social
workers seem to be doing a great job handling a large caseload. Mrs. Riesterer said that within
her agency the caseload for young adults (which she handles) should be no more than 25-30
clients and she is currently at 50. Although she has more clients than would be ideal she believes
that she can still be an asset to each of them. She didnt complain nor did she appear to have a
problem with the number of clients she services. She also shared that she recently was getting
very close to experiencing burn out. I was very impressed that she recognized the symptoms
early and took care of herself so that she could remain an effective tool for her clients.
I learned that being a social worker means having to do things that you might not be so
comfortable with for the betterment of others. Social work positions dont necessarily have the
most ideal working hours and work never really ends. You are a social worker 24/7, not just
during your work day. If this assignment does nothing else for me, it has ensured that once I
become a licensed social worker I will ALWAYS return phone calls!
Before my interview I didnt know anything about the Easter Seals but because of Anna
Marie Riesterer, I am convinced that they are an integral part of the social welfare process.