A Word With…. Sarah Stankorb

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A Word With… features those who work in the Wyoming community, but who may not necessarily live in Wyoming. This month our featured community member both lives and works in our community – Sarah Stankorb, Wyoming City Councilmember, and much, much more. Read on to learn much more about Sarah and the great work happening in our community!  

Sarah Stankorb Taylor has been a member of Wyoming City Council for one year and a writer for almost a decade.

Name: Sarah Stankorb

Title: Writer and Wyoming City Councilmember

Job Description: I write for a variety of national publications, plus consult with a few nonprofits.

Years in this position: Nine as a writer; one as a city councilmember

What was your path leading to your current career in Wyoming? I’d taught for a few years, then worked in nonprofits, but always secretly wanted to be a writer. When my son was born, I realized that I didn’t want to model for him that dreams should be deferred, so I started trying to write a novel and began pitching essays, then reported pieces. Eventually I was writing so much on the side that I was able to instead make it my fulltime job.

What is the best book you have read this year? The Library Book by Susan Orlean.

What is your favorite movie? Tie between When Harry Met Sally and The Empire Strikes Back.

Who would you cast to play you in a movie about your life?  Helena Bonham Carter, just so I can meet her. (I’d also try casting Dame Judi Dench for the same reason, but doubt she’d find the role a reasonable match.)

What was your favorite subject when you were in school? English.

   

Who was your favorite teacher and why? Ms. Ciambotti, my 9th and 12th grade high school English teacher. She was brilliant and put herself through law school at night while teaching fulltime. Then she practiced law and continued teaching high school. There was no cutting corners with Ms. Ciambotti because she worked so hard herself. She taught me how to build an argument and that writing requires work.

Where would your dream vacation take you? Kerala, India.

If you could invite one person from history to a dinner party, who would you choose? Elizabeth Cady Stanton.

What is your guilty pleasure to binge watch on television? I binge a lot of Netflix while on the elliptical. My most recent favorite is Halt and Catch Fire, and I am wild about The Good Place. I studied ethics in undergrad and graduate school, so I am incredibly amused by jokes about logical positivism and philosophical dorkiness generally.

What is one thing the Wyoming community does not know about you? In high school I wrote for our local newspaper’s teen page. I learned how to interview and report - and covered teen community issues. But one of my favorite (and silliest) stories was about all the weird, unboxed things you could put in the mail that could actually get delivered. (This was pre-9/11.) Among the goofy things I mailed was a cantaloupe and hubcap, each with the address written directly on them and covered in stamps, and they got through! The stamp with the address written very small on the back did not.

What is your hidden talent? Persistence.

   

What is the best meal you have ever eaten? I’m not sure, but I am positive my husband Michael cooked it.