Madison Elementary Staff Member of the Year thinks library is magical place
MADISON – Cindy Petrucka believes an elementary school library, which is her workplace, is a magical place. Petrucka is “Staff Member of the Year” at Madison Elementary School.
“Our librarian, Bonnie Howard, has made ours a place full of joy where kids can find refuge from whatever else may be going on in their lives,” Petrucka said. “I try to make sure every child who comes in feels welcome, seen and loved.”
Petrucka has worked as Library Aide at Madison Elementary since February 2021. “I taught fifth grade in Salt Lake City, Utah, and then spent 25 years as a stay-at-home mom,” she said.
Any time a student is excited about a book and comes to Petrucka, she feels successful. “My favorite (scenario) was the student who excitedly told me all about a cruise that his family would take over Christmas break on a ship just like the one pictured on his library book’s cover. The book was ‘Titanic,’” she said.
“I am a California girl!” Petrucka said. “I grew up in Merced, a small farming town in California’s Central Valley, and earned a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah.”
She and husband Mark have been married for 30 years. Mark works for NASA as a Software Consultant. The Petruckas’ four children grew up in Madison.
Their daughter Natalie Petrucka graduated from Bob Jones High School in 2014 and earned a bachelor’s degree from BYU in 2018; Natalie works for SAIC at Army Game Studio. Daughter Emily Pierce graduated from James Clemens High School in 2017 and received a degree from Evans Hairstyling College in 2021; Emily is a full-time mom to two daughters.
Cindy and Mark’s son Brandon is a 2018 graduate of James Clemens and a 2024 graduate with a bachelor’s degree in neuroscience from BYU; currently, Brandon is enrolled in optometry school at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Bryce Petrucka graduated from James Clemens in 2020; he is studying for a bachelor’s degree in computer programming at BYU-Idaho.
“I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and volunteer in their youth ministry for middle- and high-school-aged girls,” Cindy Petrucka said. “I also play the oboe and was once lucky enough to be asked to play with the Army Materiel Command Band at one of their Fourth of July concerts.”
It’s no surprise that library employee Petrucka enjoys reading. “I have an embarrassingly extensive Kindle library. When I’m not curled up with a book or spoiling my granddaughters (‘Yes, you may eat a bowl of cupcake sprinkles at Grandma’s house!’), I enjoy baking, crafting and traveling with my family,” she said.
