friday takeout

Shara Sparrgrove

Success Coach | Dubuque Center

If you could start all over again, what would be your career choice?

If I could go back, knowing then what I know now about what I enjoy the most, I would be a professor of European history. I did teach British and Commonwealth History in my course load as an English teacher in Prague, but it was just a teaser. I would love that to be my full-time job, but only if my students were genuinely interested and wanted to dig as deep as I do into subjects such as the Celtic migration, monastic culture, the Viking Era, the English Reformation and the Thirty Years’ War. Otherwise, I’ve always thought about speech pathology, as my favorite part of teaching English was getting through the tough pronunciation issues that are found in sentences like, “Three teeth went through the tick thistle.”

Who is your favorite fictional character and why? If you could go on a fun adventure or date with them, what would you do?

I am currently deeply embedded in reading the entire series of novels, novellas and short stories related to the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon. I’m obsessed with British and specifically Scottish culture, especially the Highlands and their role in the Jacobite Rebellions, and these books are a really cool way to explore that through historical fiction. If you are committed and make it to the second half of the series, you also get to dive into 18^th century North American history and “meet” some of the Founding Fathers. That being said, I would want to meet the main heroine of the novels, Claire Beauchamp Randall Fraser, as she is a modern woman with a mind of her own trying to make a difference using her unique abilities. I would volunteer to assist her as she tries to apply 20^th century medical procedures in the backwoods of 18^th century North Carolina.

Is there a book you’ve read that you love so much you’ve read it twice, or even multiple times?

I’ve read virtually everything by John Irving, and I did read The Cider House Rules a few times. He writes about controversial issues in western society, and gives you a chance to make up your own mind while seeing the multiple sides of the issue through the eyes of relatable characters. What more can you ask for in quality fiction?

Name one country or region in the world you have never visited that you someday want to visit, serve or spend a vacation?

Having lived in Europe for so long, I got a chance to visit many of the countries on the top of my list. However, I would still love to visit India, which is a sub-continent, so it would be quite a fête. I would start with the major sites in Mumbai, New Delhi, Calcutta and beyond, but I would also want to walk in Gandhi’s footsteps along the west coast of Gujarat, and volunteer in various ways.

If you could be an Olympic athlete, in what sport would you compete?

I would probably want to be on the women’s ice hockey team and beat Canada! I played in college, and was nowhere near good enough to play at an Olympic level, but a girl can dream, I guess.