By Nupur Shah, A&E Editor
Intelligent, kind, helpful and dedicated- Reynold’s new librarian Cynthia Curtis is bringing smiles to students and bringing changes to the media center.
Curtis began working as the Reynolds media center coordinator this year after working at Hanes Middle School for 11 years. When she finally decided that she was ready for a change, Reynolds was one of two high schools with a job opening in their media center.
“I love the fact that y’all have a literacy focus here and that’s right up my alley,” Curtis said. “I was really hoping I would get (the job) and I did.”
Curtis feels that she made the right choice.
“I love working in this space; it is beautiful and it makes me happy to be here,” she said.
Many students are excited to see what Curtis has in store for the media center and are eager to have her at Reynolds.
One such student is Drew Fansler, a junior who had Curtis as his media center coordinator during his time at Hanes Middle School.
“She brings a very homely feel to the Reynolds library,” Fansler said. “She always greets you with a smile.”
Fansler said that he hopes Curtis will help bring the media center back into student use. He feels that Reynolds’ students need to have more access to books that they would like to read.
Curtis agrees that the Reynolds media center should improve its collection.
“I would like more kids to read and I understand that in high school, students have less time for pleasure reading, but I would think that if our collection was more exciting, kids would read more,” Curtis said.
She also hopes to work with students individually to help find books that interest them and incite an interest in literature.
“I think that there are some students who can’t find things that they would like to read. They’re readers but they can’t seem to find a lot to cater to that,” Curtis said.
Curtis also wants to improve student literacy at Reynolds in order to better prepare students for the future.
“(Literacy) is part of the school’s improvement plan, which is great and I think that’s the way to go because you guys are going to be out of here and going to college… and to be able to read and comprehend quickly and effectively is just invaluable. If you struggle with that, you will struggle in college,” Curtis said.
She has two degrees, a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering and a master’s in library science. She worked as a chemical engineer until she had a family and decided to take up a job that involved shorter hours and less traveling.
Curtis loves her job and sees reading and literacy as a crucial skill and an important contributor to an individual’s character.
“I think that reading is an equalizer. I think that if you are a reader no matter who you are, where you are from and what your economic status is you can gain knowledge on your own and I think that is so important for people today,” Curtis said.
Photo from Pine Whispers/Alexis Hurley