With
turtle as her spirit animal, Supinda Sirihekaphong says wherever
she is, is home.
She
was in awe of the colors and the sky on her first trip to the
desert.
Born
in southern California and raised in New York City, Supinda has
also lived in Thailand, Philadelphia and studied abroad in
Australia. Supinda says living in all these different places has
helped her learn to appreciate wherever she is, allowing her to put
down roots and call where ever she is home.
While
living in the Bay area, Supinda worked in the sphere of higher
education. A change in the leadership of that institution, left
Supinda without a job after 10 years. Supinda interviewed at many
other institutes of higher education. Interviewing without new
offers coming her way, Supinda began to think perhaps her time in
the academic world was over. She thought about what other paths
might be interesting to her, eventually giving it up to the
universe to bring her a sign. The next morning she awoke from a
dream in which she was supporting someone in labor. She called
friends – those trying to get pregnant and those not trying, and
none of them were.
Supinda took this as the sign she
requested.
While
continuing to interview for roles in higher education, Supinda
completed a doula training program. While in the program, Supinda
was getting opportunities to support doula clients. When all three
of her clients went into labor on the same weekend, Supinda was
able to support each of them.
Looking for a yoga class over the last Thanksgiving
holiday, Supinda walked in to a local studio, Instant Karma. The
studio owner happened to be there that day and Supinda introduced
herself as a registered yoga teacher, who could perhaps fill in for
the studio's regular teachers during the upcoming holiday. Supinda
was invited to do a yoga demo and was brought on board to teach.
When the studio was forced to close for Covid, Supinda was able to
assist the studio in putting classes online without skipping a
beat.
In this
episode, Supinda
says even while serving as a doula and yoga instructor, it's
important to her to be involved the community. Which is why running
for a Trustee position with the local community college appealed to
her. Supinda believes her doctorate in Educational Leadership and
Social Justice is particularly useful in this role at this
time.
Follow Supinda's campaign on Facebook:
@supindasiri4cmccdtrustee