By Zaki Abbasi

SAN JOSE, CALIF– Meet Mrs. Amanda Turkie, the librarian who works behind the scenes to keep the library organized and accessible to everyone at Silver Creek High School. Her hard work consists of making sure that all of the books are in the right order, in good condition and ordering new books for the avid readers at Silver Creek.

Mrs. Turkie grew up in Atlanta, Georgia where she described some of her experiences there. She also mentioned how her name ends with “-ie” and not “-ey,” a common mistake people make with her name. Mrs. Turkie recounted Atlanta as a lively city with lots of music and food (she stated that it probably looks like she likes to eat). As a youth, she narrated being a little naughty, even once being caught tearing up pages in the library to make Valentine’s cards. But after going through seven years of college and getting an English degree, she decided to travel the world. 

Mrs. Turkie bought a one-way ticket around the world and traveled to several countries. She talked about Fiji, Australia, San Diego, London, Columbia, France and Italy. But she said that even after traveling to so many countries, her favorite was New Zealand. Like a scene out of “The Hobbit,” she described it as a lush green meadow with funny and interesting people. 

Mrs. Turkie spent lots of time in different places, living for two years in Miami, and a few years across other countries. Her drive was her curiosity and intrigue towards meeting new people, learning about new cultures and exploring new places. Some advice she gave was, “…travel the world; maybe even go to New Zealand.” 

During Mrs. Turkie’s travels, she met her husband. She traveled to Britain and married him, having two children. The youngest of which is 15 (her son), and the older is her daughter who is 19 and completing her major. Mrs. Turkie then moved to Sacramento where she became an English teacher and then a district librarian, which totaled 14 years of her career, before moving to San Jose. 

Mrs. Turkie is very experienced in her field mostly because of her major in English and her love for reading. In addition, she mentioned, “I have actually worked in a public library as a circulation manager and I much prefer working in school libraries. You build stronger relationships with your patrons and you have a wider array of roles that allow you to be creative and collaborative.” Mrs. Turkie commented on choosing to be a librarian, stating, “I love libraries. They are full of so much promise and potential, kind of like a new box of crayons. There are ideas, innovations, explorations, just waiting to happen.”

Sadly, Mrs. Turkie will soon leave the school. She has accepted a calling to something she hopes will be a bigger cause. Hopefully, she will come back to SCHS to talk about her book recommendations again.