Oblivious meets Janice Sapigao

October is Filipino American History Month. Oblivious Interviews will feature Filipino-Americans doing kick ass things. This interview is with Janice Sapigao. I met Janice when she was organizing with Justice for Filipino American Veterans. Mike had been a part of the JFAV Steering Committee that planned the annual Veteran's Day Rally/Parade through Historic-Filipinotown. Janice was a part of the new leadership that continued to do the important advocacy work for Filipino American Veterans.

Throughout her time in Los Angeles, Janice founded Sunday Jump, a monthly community open mic series in Historic-Filipinotown. Sunday Jump takes place at Kapistahan Grill (1925 W Temple St, Los Angeles, CA 90026). Sunday Jump is a space for storytelling, good food, and good vibes. Thank you for the Sunday Jump family for this Oblivious Interview!

​Oblivious meets Janice Sapigao

​Affiliations (arts org, fun things you do, etc) : 
I work at Skyline College/San Jose City College. I co-advise the Filipino Student Union, teach in a hip hop learning community, and co-coordinate the Puente program. My community organizing is in and out of the classroom now. I'm also an editor for TAYO Literary Magazine (buy our mag at Barnes & Noble!). Oh, and I write things. 

What's the one word you are guilty of using too much? 
Uhhhh...

How did you end up doing what you are doing now? 
Hard work and luck. Timing and goal-setting. Hyper-empathy and love.  Community and writing. For real. All of these things found their ways into some formula that allowed me to teach, write, and read.

Which member of the Wu-Tang Clan best describes your personality? 
Probs RZA. He has books and bars!

Dogs or Cats, who wins? Why? 
Cats! They're spiritual and live forever beyond their nine lives with us.

What is the best part of any given day for you? 
I can't choose between these two kinds of glorious times: 1) When the streets are dark and I'm inside my apartment, and the whole world has finally come to a standstill that allows me to sleep, or, 2) When I get home from a long ass day of work and can finally kick off my heels, unbutton my collar shirt, and take off/unzip my pants. 

​In a zombie apocalypse who would you want on your survival team? 
Fuckin' Eddy. He would probably sacrifice himself so that the rest of us can live. He'd also document everything so that we can celebrate and honor his life as a result.

What is the last thing you searched for on google? 
"How to cite rap songs in paragraphs." Thank you, Purdue Online Writing Lab, for the answer to my students' questions.

If you could talk to your high school self, what would you say? 
Thank you. I wrote about this on a recent blog post. I'd say, "She helped me get here. Her bravery and choice to love and move away from home to appreciate, sacrifice, and struggle through its distance makes me myself."

What is the best thing or meal you ever ate? 
Vietnamese Fish Sauce Wings from Pok Pok in Portland, OR. 

What is a memorable project that you are working on or have worked on? 
I'm working on what will hopefully be my life's work, a book about my father who passed away when I was six. The manuscript is tentatively titled you don't know what you don't know. 

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