Today we’d like to introduce you to Seletha Pherribo.
Hi Seletha, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
In October of 2020, during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, I organized a GirlTrek team. I live alone, and during this time, I felt isolated and lonely. I was working from home remotely, walking alone daily, and eating all meals alone. It was quite a challenging period in my life as I have a very social personality.
Prior to the pandemic, I had read about the GirlTrek movement. I decided that this was the perfect time to try and organize a group of women to meet once a week to walk for the health benefits.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It was not difficult to organize. Everything I needed to support my GirlTrek team was already established at girltrek.org
I followed the steps on how to lead and organize a team. The most challenging component is encouraging the women to walk on their own during the week at least 30 minutes and to show up on Saturday mornings to walk or hike as a group for about 1.5 hours.
I make a monthly schedule for meetups.
Thanks – so, what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
In my professional career, I counseled and academically advised students who attended community college. I retired in August of 2022 from Vance-Granville Community College. Prior to this, I was an Admissions Counselor at Durham Tech.
I am most proud of beginning my college career at the tender age of 32 at UNC-Chapel Hill, where I graduated with a BA in Sociology, followed by an MA from North Carolina Central University in Career Counseling.
What sets me apart is that I am a lifelong learner, and I have always loved helping people. It is a natural instinct for me to do so. Even in retirement, I am always stretching myself to satisfy my passions and curiosity, most recently, baking cakes. Leading my GirlTrek team, “Sisters” allows me to meet new people and make space for them to share their expertise on navigating trails, identifying plants, trail maintenance, safety, and wildlife. The women show up and are eager to learn.
Can you talk to us a bit about happiness and what makes you happy?
What makes me happy is spending time with my family and friends and finding joy in nature.
My family and friends are always available to provide support that I may need. It is a wonderful feeling to know that I have such an amazing group of people in my village who sincerely care about me and my well-being.
In nature, the sound of rushing water, bird songs, wildflowers, and the peaceful feeling of walking through the trails makes me feel like everything in the world is ok, even when it isn’t.
My brother, Akalema Pherribo, became an ally for my GirlTrek team. He introduced us to hiking (we were previously walking in parks). He hiked with us on most Saturday mornings. He helped me identify new trails, made hiking sticks from bamboo, picked us up when we fell down. He was always helpful, and the women loved having him hike with us.
Our last hike was 3 days before he suddenly died at the age of 65 on August 11, 2022.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: selethapherribo
- Facebook: selethapherribo
