Born in Singapore, Ayaka (Faith) has spent the past 34 years living in Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, the United States, Japan, and China. She has attended international and American schools from kindergarten through high school graduation. Although Japanese is her native language, Faith feels most at ease speaking, reading, and writing in English. She speaks with a Southern drawl, but can understand mainstream Singlish and possesses a very rough understanding of Putonghua (standard Mandarin Chinese).
Faith graduated with cum lauder honors from Southern Methodist University (2010) with a BA in International Studies, minored in secondary education, and obtained her Grades 8-12 Social Studies Texas educator certification. She is proud to have served in the athletics department as a student athletic trainer for four seasons with the football and men’s soccer team. Faith is the past President of the SMU Singapore alumni chapter, former Co-President of the SMU Beijing alumni chapter, and is involved with the Student Recruitment Volunteer (SeRVe) program.
In 2014, Faith graduated from the Peabody College at Vanderbilt University with a M.Ed in International Education Policy and Management. During her time in Nashville, Faith was busy as a community service volunteer, working at the academic support center, and serving the graduate student body as the Vice President and Social Chair of the Peabody Graduate Student Association (PGSA). From 2014 to 2019, she was a part of the Commodore Recruitment Program (CoRPS), interviewing nearly 150 prospective students over the course of six years.
Faith possesses a unique background combining education, event planning experience, sports marketing, and project management. She demonstrates a strong sense of adaptability and an eagerness to gain new skills. In recent years, Faith has been successful as an educational consultant in Beijing, gained corporate experience at a large MNC in Singapore, and pursued her passion for triathlon at a sports event marketing start-up in Tokyo. She is the founder of Japan Multisport, spending her time as a triathlon coach and sports event specialist based out of Zushi in Kanagawa Prefecture.
Faith graduated with cum lauder honors from Southern Methodist University (2010) with a BA in International Studies, minored in secondary education, and obtained her Grades 8-12 Social Studies Texas educator certification. She is proud to have served in the athletics department as a student athletic trainer for four seasons with the football and men’s soccer team. Faith is the past President of the SMU Singapore alumni chapter, former Co-President of the SMU Beijing alumni chapter, and is involved with the Student Recruitment Volunteer (SeRVe) program.
In 2014, Faith graduated from the Peabody College at Vanderbilt University with a M.Ed in International Education Policy and Management. During her time in Nashville, Faith was busy as a community service volunteer, working at the academic support center, and serving the graduate student body as the Vice President and Social Chair of the Peabody Graduate Student Association (PGSA). From 2014 to 2019, she was a part of the Commodore Recruitment Program (CoRPS), interviewing nearly 150 prospective students over the course of six years.
Faith possesses a unique background combining education, event planning experience, sports marketing, and project management. She demonstrates a strong sense of adaptability and an eagerness to gain new skills. In recent years, Faith has been successful as an educational consultant in Beijing, gained corporate experience at a large MNC in Singapore, and pursued her passion for triathlon at a sports event marketing start-up in Tokyo. She is the founder of Japan Multisport, spending her time as a triathlon coach and sports event specialist based out of Zushi in Kanagawa Prefecture.
