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Today’s Employee Spotlight features Sarah Borrelli, the firm’s Director of Resources and Education. Based in our California office, Sarah oversees Library Services as well as the development and coordination of internal education and training, and, as a practicing attorney, she is also actively involved in our LaborGuard Program.  

1. Where are you from? (born/grew up)
a. I grew up in Palmdale, CA.

2. What do you like most about your job?
a. I enjoy organizing our vast materials and resources for the better utilization by everybody. I especially enjoy the quest for resources when our attorneys need to find to prepare their work product.

3. What is your favorite part of being a part of the SDV team?
a. My favorite part about being part of SDV is that the entire firm is so collaborative, from coast to coast, across positions.

4. Name one thing on your bucket list.
a. I would love to do a comprehensive tour of Europe, visiting the landmarks, cathedrals, historical sites, and lesser known marvels.

5. Greatest accomplishment?
a. My greatest accomplishment would be passing the February California bar on the first attempt. That is the most difficult bar exam in the country, and I passed it on the first try.

6. Do you have any hobbies outside of work?
a. Baseball is my favorite sport. I enjoy watching the Angels and the Dodgers in person and on tv, but also playing when I can get a team together.

7. Pick three words to describe yourself.
a. Devoted, Inquisitive, and Whimsical

8. If you could hang out with anyone for a day, alive or dead, who would it be and why?
a. Sir Thomas More. I would talk with him about Henry VIII, history, and the strength of his faith in the Church.

9. If you could pick one thing to change in the world, what would it be?
a. If I could change one thing in the world, it would be for magic to be real. Bringing a physical aspect to belief and wonder, I think, would help the world believe in greater things.

10. Biggest pet peeve?
a. My biggest pet peeve is incorrect grammar.

11. Do you have a mantra or quote you like to live by?
a. My motto is ferox dedicata, fierce dedication. Those things to which I adhere, I am fiercely dedicated.

12. Have you done any volunteering? If so what is your favorite memory?
a. I volunteer with my church in many capacities. The memory that sticks out the most is when I used my volunteer experience to organize the funeral mass for my grandmother, choosing the readings and the music to best honor her life.

13. If you could, what would you tell yourself in high school?
a. I would tell my high school self to stay true to yourself. If anyone tries to change you, they are not worth the time.

14. If you could donate a million dollars, who/what would you choose?
a. I would donate the money to multiple places: (1) Biblical Archaeology Society, (2) Arts for the Armed Forces, (3) Saint Martha Catholic Church (my church), and (4) Animal Friends of the Valley (the animal shelter foundation where I adopted my dog).

15. What are you most grateful for?
a. I am grateful for my faith. Through that I can see the blessings of my parents guiding me to be who I wanted to be, believing in my sports teams even when they are awful, and keeping my quiet optimism in the face of adversity.

16. If you could choose a superpower, what would it be and why?
a. Telekinesis because then things would come to me when I needed them.

17. What is your favorite line from a movie?
a. “Is that glass bulletproof?” “No, sir.” From Independence Day

18. Tell us something that would surprise us about you.
a. To this day, my favorite song is still “It’s Gonna Be Me.”

19. If you could learn to do anything, what would it be?
a. I want to learn more languages. I want to reinforce my Spanish and Latin, which has become rusty, and I want to learn Italian and Gaelic.

20. What do you do in your spare time?
a. In my spare time, I enjoy reading and playing with my dog Hardy.