My name, Khanin Chaiphet (Thai: คณิน ชัยเพ็ชร์), is pronounced [kʰā.nīn t͡ɕʰāj.pʰét] or [kʰə.nɪn t͡ʃʰaɪ.pʰɛt] in English. My family and friends call me by my nickname Can (Thai: แคน), which means a bamboo mouth organ in Thai/Lao. I grew up in a relatively large city in northern Thailand called Lampang. I dedicated most of my time during my secondary school years to mountain biking as I represented the northern region in multiple national mountain bike racing events. Realizing that mountain biking was not my true passion, I moved to Chiang Mai to attend Chiang Mai University, where I graduated with a BA in English language and literature. While in school, I had part time jobs as a translator, tutor, and tour guide. I also sang in a choir called CM Voice Studio Chorus and performed in a musical produced by students in the English Department.

In 2010, I moved to New York City to explore opportunities to pursue higher education. In 2013, I started taking linguistics courses at Queens College, CUNY and graduated with a BA in Linguistics. I then went to the Graduate Center, CUNY for its Linguistics MA program and graduated in 2017. While in New York City, I had a part time job as a manager at a VERY beautiful Thai restaurant Qi Bangkok Eatery, located just a block away from Times Square (it’s permanently closed, unfortunately). I received my PhD from Stony Brook University (or officially the State University of New York at Stony Brook) in Long Island, New York.