Alishan Jamshid 

3/24/21

Professor Joseph

Engl 210

Interviewing a future NYC Nurse

I interviewed Miriam on a Wednesday morning around 11 am. Throughout this interview I learned about a person I was talking to for the first time in my life. Her answers gave me a rough shape of her character and her personality. I was sitting on my chair with my computer on my desk waiting for an email from Miriam saying she was ready to be interviewed. Miriam was also sitting behind a desk in a computer chair. The morning sun was beaming in through a window on the right side. Her mood seemed as she was just starting the day now which made sense because it was only 11 am. Miriam looked ready to start the day and not in any way a bedhead. I greeted her with a smile and she did back. We started the call with small talk and then I asked her if she was ready to be interviewed.  Towards the beginning of the call, the conversation was conservative because we were still getting comfortable with each other. I started with a simple and close ended question by asking “where are you from?”. Miriam is from Washington heights, New York but originally she is from the Dominican Republic. That intrigued me because she was also of immigrant descent. This gave me ideas for other questions I could ask her. After the first question she started to open up more and give more thorough responses. 

That gave me the chance to ask more open ended questions but I waited till further in the interview. My next question to her was “what is one of your biggest pet peeves?”, which is a more open ended question because it varies per person. Miriam answered by saying “loud chewing”. When she answered this question she seemed interested in answering. She right away answered and from there we started to have a miniature conversation in between questions about how annoying it is when people chew loud. During that miniature conversation about pet peeves she opened up a lot more because we started to go back and forth about things that bother us both. She was also less shy on the camera. She started to use hand gestures to show emphasis and also was openly laughing while talking. After this I asked a series of more personal questions. I asked “if there was one thing you could change about yourself, what would it be?”. Miriam sat back in her chair and looked up while thinking which insured me I would get a good answer. After a short period of thinking she said “ I would change how much I give up my self for others’ which is a very deep answer. She then went on to explain her answer to me and her explanation was very thoughtful and showed me that she is a very giving person. She trusted me and gave me examples of when she did too much for others and that showed me that she was also a very trusting person. I did not expect someone I did not know at all to be so open and honest with me during our first time talking ever. Especially it being through a facetime call and not an in person meeting where we could get comfortable with each other. After that I asked Miriam what motivates her and why? Her reply was that her sister motivates her. Her sister is her motivation because she is successful and worked really hard to get there. Miriam saying her sister is her motivation was significant to me. A lot of people would name someone that they do not personally know, for example an artist or a politician. Instead of doing that Miriam chose someone she watched personally growing up and her family’s accomplishments hold a weight to her which shows me something about her character. Another question that I asked showed me that she is a family person. I asked Miriam who one of her role models would be and she replied with “My mom… it would be my mom because she took a boat here from the Dominican Republic and had nothing to her name and she was still able to work really hard and start a stable life here all while raising two daughters”. Both of her motivational and inspirational figures were her family, which shows me family plays a big part in her life. My next question to Miriam was, “what is your greatest achievement.” At first it seemed as if she didn’t answer this question with an interesting answer when she said “my biggest accomplishment would be graduating highschool”. I thought that was a pretty simple answer but then she went on to tell me it was a big accomplishment because she was one of the first people in her family to accomplish that. When she said she was one of the first to accomplish it, I understood why it was an accomplishment because I personally relate to her. I come from a family of hard working immigrants and at a young age all my uncles and aunts were working, I am one of the first in my family to graduate high school and then go to college. I then asked her a question that was very important because it gave me a subculture she belonged to. My question to Miriam was “where do you see yourself in 5-10 years? She replied with “I see myself living in an NYC apartment with my best friend. Still going to school for nursing.” She then went on to tell me she had a passion for nursing and the medical field which became a subculture she associates with. I then changed around some of my questions to adapt to the situation so I can ask her questions more relevant to her sub culture. 

The interview process was a lot different than I thought it would be. I thought it would be awkward talking to someone who I don’t know and asking them personal questions. I was completely wrong. This interview process gave me the chance to create a friendship with someone who I had never talked to before. Miriam and I had a lot in common and our conversation was interesting and at certain times it did not even feel like I was conducting an interview with a stranger. 

10 Original Questions

1. Where are you from?
2. What are your biggest pet peeves?
3. What would you change about yourself?
4. So far in life, what is your proudest moment?
5. What motivates you?
6. Where do you see yourself in 5-10 years?
7. What do you think is the meaning of life?
8. What is your biggest fear?
9. What is your state of mind right now (below the surface level)?
10. Who is a role model to you?