Whatever It Takes - Anne Rueth '06

Whatever It Takes

The confidence instilled in her at
Saint Mary's motivated Anne Rueth '06
to take on a challenging and rewarding
career as well as the City of New York.
She is pictured here, second from left,
with friends in Rockefeller Center.
As a first-year student, Anne Rueth ’06 was looking to be inspired. When her advisor, who knew she was a people person, suggested she take Introduction to Social Work with former professor Pat Hancock, Rueth found that inspiration and a fulfilling career path that allows her to make a difference in children’s lives every day. 

Rueth is a social worker, a case planner with The Children’s Aid Society in the Bronx Preventive Services Program. She works with 15 families in the South Bronx who are involved in allegations of child abuse or neglect.

Every day, Rueth is in the trenches, working with families in their homes to create a safe environment for their children. “I do pretty much whatever it takes to help the family get to that stable point,” says Rueth. Sometimes that means providing family therapy, advocacy in court, and coordinating services with various agencies like Public Assistance and Child Protective Services.

A graduate of Saint Mary’s nationally accredited social work program, Rueth also earned her master’s in social work (MSW) from Columbia University in New York City. She participated in the European Summer Study tour between her sophomore and junior years at Saint Mary’s and says the experience impacted her career choice.

“I knew then that I wanted to work in a field where I would meet all kinds of different people and expose myself to a variety of cultures on a daily basis. It was a major motivating factor in my decision to move to New York City,” says Rueth.

Rueth also says that she wouldn’t be helping the children she works with today if it weren’t for that first meeting with her advisor and her experiences in the Department of Social Work.

“The idea of social justice and empowering women to take leadership roles was ingrained in every class I took,” Rueth says. “In the families I work with, I want to change the children’s world to a safe and nurturing one where they can achieve their full potential.”