<Begin Segment 15>

AI: While you were in the pre-medical courses, did you ever, were you ever worried about possible discrimination, that you might not be accepted to a medical school?

RI: Well, I must have been worried because all these boys were still hanging around school as a teacher's assistant or something. And they, then they were trying to, switching courses and because they couldn't get into medical school. I probably was worried, but I guess I wasn't gonna face that until I got there. You know, when you're younger it's probably better that you don't know any better. So, I think that was my situation. Because I'm sure that my father told me. I don't think he knew it was difficult to get into medical school, but I think he knew that a woman wouldn't have as good a chance as a man would, but he wasn't trying to discourage me too much. It's, it was big enough of a challenge to get through school, take all the science courses and laboratory courses.

AI: I was wondering if you ever got any different kind of treatment in pre-medical courses because you were a woman. Was that a problem?

RI: I don't think so. I don't remember being treated badly and, no. I think I was treated just like any other student. There were enough Japanese students at the university that other students didn't bother us.

DG: But as a woman?

RI: As a woman? I was --

DG: There, there had to be just a handful of women in your classes?

RI: Well, you mean for taking anatomy --

DG: Right.

RI: -- or zoology or chemistry? No, I don't think so. Because you know, UW, in college you go to a class, you sit there, listen to the lectures, take your notes. You don't necessarily have that much interaction with other students unless it's somebody who sits next to you all the time. I don't remember interacting with other students that much. Anyway, that was me. You know, maybe I'm not a type that would talk easily with other students. And I don't remember having a lot of friends at the UW because, I go to school in the middle of the day and then leave about five or six o'clock, come home. I didn't interact with a lot of students, even with other Japanese students, I didn't socialize very much.

DG: Were you one of those people that carried a lot of books, or not?

RI: Well, I'm sure we had to carry lotta books. You know, a lot of those science books, anatomy books are real heavy. I probably did. I don't remember. I must have looked weird, but, you know, it's good that I didn't know any better.

AI: It sounds like you were really busy in those days. You had a very busy schedule.

RI: Uh-huh.

<End Segment 15> - Copyright © 2003 Densho. All Rights Reserved.