Meet Amber Ollis, who taught English in South Korea and now works at North Canton Library

Amber Ollis has taught English abroad, then worked in a library at the TimkenSteel and a few other jobs before coming into her current position as community engagement librarian at the North Canton Public Library.

She graduated from GlenOak High School in 2008. She then went on to graduate from the University of Akron in the Honors College (2012) with a bachelor's degree in social work and earned a second college degree from Kent State University (2017) in knowledge management and information architecture.

Along with Ollis' long-term partner Matt, they have several rescue animals including three potbelly pigs (Mr. Oinkers, Daisy and Lorelai) and two rescue pups (Skylar and Atlas).

“After graduating with my undergraduate degree, I did not immediately go into my chosen career field (social work)," she said. "Instead, I took a job teaching English in Ilsan, South Korea. From there, I was able to visit countries like Japan, Dubai the UK and stayed in M'Saken, Tunisia, with a family I met online and we are still friends to this day.”

Ollis returned to the U.S. in 2014 and was hired by TimkenSteel — now named Metallus — as a librarian. The company had just split into Timken Co. and TimkenSteel. One of her tasks was to go through the company vaults and clean up/save any important documentation or any relics.

“I had the time of my life building their metallurgical library from scratch," she said.

TimkenSteel paid for her to obtain a master's degree from Kent State. Her roles changed over the years as she was promoted, and eventually began coding and learning computer engineering skills.

“Sadly, from the time I started in 2014 to the time I left in 2020, many of the people I had worked with had retired, been laid off or moved on," Ollis said. "The steel industry wasn't doing well and there were several rounds of layoffs. I finally decided to leave in December 2020 to see what other kinds of work I might be interested in. I tried roofing, my own cleaning business (I learned if I cleaned other people's houses, I didn't really feel like cleaning my own), taught classes online and worked as a tech engineer at PNC and at PBS Animal Health in Massillon.

“It wasn't until I was laid off from PNC in late 2023 that I knew I was ready to return to my roots. I had previously worked at the North Canton Library as a teenager and discovered there was a community engagement librarian role open. I went ahead and reached out to a few people I knew to see if I could be considered for the role.”

5 questions with Nicholas DuBose: A volunteer with the Stark County Fatherhood Coalition

Why did you want to work in a local library?

I had worked in a library both in North Canton and the Stark Plain Local branch when I was still in high school as they had just built it onto GlenOak.

Growing up, I figured I would always be a writer and wished I could get paid to read books. Every year, I upped the number of books I would read. This year, my goal is 110, which I am on task to achieve.

Some of my fondest memories are of going to the North Canton Library's teen events, especially when "Twilight" started getting big.

What are your favorite parts of the library?

The people, easily.

Librarians are passionate about what they do, create and provide to the community. We recently had several large boxes of Magic cards donated for our teen department to checkout/trade and engage with. How cool!

Right now, I coordinate and lead the senior events at the North Canton Civic Center. I have already grown to love and enjoy the approximately 25 seniors who attend regularly. They make me feel like my work is valuable and important (but especially makes them smile).

You have manufacturing and engineering in your professional background, how do you incorporate those experiences into your current position?

Through my strategic thinking. I feel more organized and prepared when I have events to plan or tasks to complete.

I am already booking programs into 2025, and know that the years of using Excel, invoicing and talking to clients have prepared me for this role. I believe I gained confidence by stepping into a workplace where I knew nothing.

I am not afraid or intimidated to say I do not know something and now I know I can truly accomplish anything — if I want it.

Which genres do you read most often?

Usually, I read mostly fantasy novels. Think King Arthur, dragons, Lord of the Rings.

However, right now I am going through a horror jaunt and don't see any stop in sight. I'm finishing up "The Exorcist" on Audible this week.

One for fun: If you had a superpower, what would you want it to be?

If I had a superpower, I absolutely would want to talk to animals!

I'd love to be able to know what my piggies are saying when they oink at me, which is probably “more food.” But it would still be worth it.

Editor's note: Five questions with ... is a Sunday feature that showcases a member of the Stark County community. If you'd like to recommend someone to participate, send an email to newsroom@cantonrep.com.

This article originally appeared on The Repository: 5 questions with Amber Ollis of North Canton Public Library