Long-time Northbrook resident Sara Silver is a former public school teacher in Highland Park, Gurnee and San Antonio, Texas. For the last two years, she’s operated Computer Companion, a one-woman firm that teaches mostly older clients how to use computers. She’s married and has three adult children.
Q: Where did you grow up?
A: My dad was an oil company exec, so we moved around, and I lived in about six states. I went to high school in California (in Pasadena) and at Fremd (in Palatine).
Q: As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
A: I wanted to be a teacher, and that’s what I did.
Q: What was your first job?
A: At Madigan’s, in Woodfield Mall, selling clothes, back when you had a register and you had to balance to the penny at the end of every day. I remember sweating that out. That was in the days of registers that didn’t tell you the change to give back to people.
Q: Do you play any musical instruments?
A: I play piano, and I actually teach a little girl, the daughter of a friend of mine, with Down Syndrome. She’s just a joy to teach.
Q: Do you have any pets?
A: I’m a huge dog person, and that’s one of the reasons my company logo is a dog holding a tablet. I’m on my third lab, a rescue, a pit-lab.
Q: Any pet peeves?
A: When people dismiss older adults. These are the people with the most experience in life.
Q: If you could be on any reality show, which one would you be on?
A: Maybe “Chopped.” I love cooking shows.
Q: What’s the most remarkable thing you’ve ever seen?
A: Athletic-wise, in Florida, one time I saw those people who attach kites to their backs, and they’re skiing and surfing and flying at the same time. Kiteboarding.
Q: What’s your favorite charity?
A: The Center for Civic Education. We’re woefully in need of civic education, and this election year points that out very clearly.
Shout Out is a weekly feature in which we get to know and introduce our readers to their fellow community members and local visitors throughout suburban Chicago.
