24 | AUGUST 12 • 2021
K
eith Schonberger
has developed an
impressive resume:
From teaching a computer to
solve a Rubik’s Cube on his
way to a bachelor of science
degree in computer science
at Michigan State University,
including a brief software
engineering internship with
the Boeing Company, on to
MSU College of Law, where he
earned his J.D. and found his
calling in patent law.
With almost nine years in
practice — including almost
six years with Troy-based
Young Basile — Keith is now a
shareholder in the law firm.
A two-career family today,
Keith and Tara met at MSU in
what Keith briefly describes as
sorority girl meets fraternity
boy in a Battle of the Bands
during Greek Week. “Tara is
the real brains in the family,”
says Keith. With a master’s
degree in clinical laboratory
science and more than a dozen
initials behind her name
that certify her hard-earned
credentials, Tara has worked
in the Blood Bank and HLA
Laboratories at Beaumont
Health for 12 years.
Reflecting on the challenges
of work in balance with family
homelife, Keith describes
coming through COVID as
a remarkable year of growth
and reawakening. “COVID
has tested every aspect of what
we consider to be normal, but
the concept of togetherness
and community — doing
something greater than
yourself with other people —
has always been a focal point
of my life. Today, I can say
that I’ve seen my family, my
colleagues and our community
grow stronger, more resilient
and more creative together.”
ON FAMILY LIFE IN THE
TIME OF COVID
Q: Keith, please give us a
snapshot of your family over
the past year. How have you
fared?
Keith Schonberger: Honestly,
we’ve been wonderful —
blessed to be healthy and
happy — but we crave the
same things everyone craves:
getting back together with
family and friends.
I’ve been working from
home for more than a year,
spending loads of time with
Tara and our children. Eli is
5 and will enter kindergarten
in the fall; Adam is 3; and
Leah — born shortly before
the pandemic began — is
a year and a half. Our boys
were physically in school at
Somerset Academy in Troy
last year and did well. Eli is
learning to read and write and
is doing such an incredible
job on both, and his brother is
quickly becoming a reader, too.
We also recently moved
to a new home in Rochester
Hills in a beautiful area
that is strategically nearby
grandparents. With Tara’s
parents in Romeo and my
folks in West Bloomfield, we
have some daycare support,
and everyone is vaccinated at
this point.
It’s easy to dwell on what
we’ve missed this … but when
I think about it, there’s so
much I’ve gained in the time.
Time is the one resource we
all have. And you never get
time back. Being home with
Tara and the kids gave me the
time to catch more of those
precious little moments we
might ordinarily miss.
ON JEWISH FAMILY
BACKGROUND AND
EDUCATION
Q: You have been an active
community volunteer with
Federation for more than a
decade — additionally serving
on the boards of MSU Hillel
and Tamarack Camps. In what
ways has the Jewish community
been a strong part of your
upbringing?
KS: My family’s involvement
with Federation and its
partner agencies starts back
OUR COMMUNITY
All
He’s
In
Keith Schonberger
welcomes all to Federation’s
NEXTGen Detroit.
VIVIAN HENOCH SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS
JOHN HARDWICK