<Begin Segment 27>

AI: Well, during the time that you were at University of Texas, at some point you must have started applying to medical schools.

RI: Yeah, I think so. I must have. And I don't know how I knew... I probably applied to a lot of medical schools and maybe somebody at school helped me and maybe gave me a list where to apply. I know that I got lotta rejections. But maybe this medical college in Philadelphia was willing to consider my application because they wanted to get a good variety of students from all over the United States and I was still considered a Washington resident, so I'm from Washington State, and also a Japanese. Maybe they wanted diversity in their student, student group. There were a lot of students; most of the students were from the East Coast, though, in the New York area. But there were students from Puerto Rico, I think there was a student from Hawaii, but could it have been Japanese? No. Well, anyway, she certainly was not in my class. But my experience in applying was that this medical college was the only college that would consider my application. And I think it's because they wanted a variety of students, not because I was that great. I probably wasn't. But when I went to medical school I found that the student composition was little bit different from what it is now in that most of the women were older and they had already careers. They were, they had worked in nursing or in biology or teaching or something like that for a few years and then they redirected their career towards medicine so that many of the students were a little bit older. And I also found that they were all very intellectual. So I thought when I went to medical school that I was a good student but when I got there and started to compete with them I was not a good student. School was very difficult. It was hard. And do you want me to tell you about Kazuko?

AI: Well, before we go on --

RI: No, that's... I'm jumping the, yeah.

AI: I do want to hear about Kazuko, but before that, just to finish up a little bit, finish the --

RI: Texas?

AI: -- about your time in Texas, I did want to ask if there was, if you've faced any problem there as a woman, again, as a woman in pre-med. Was that any difficulty at Texas?

RI: I don't think so. I don't think that I was ever... why, as a woman -- just because I'm in pre-med doesn't mean that I am sorted out. You know, you're taking a course in chemistry or physics or... I do remember that I was in a physics class and, you know, great big class, all men, except two women. And we had a big test and there were only two "A's" and it was the two women. So I remember the teacher or professor commenting, "Well, the top two are women." [Laughs] So, of course my, my, what, my idea of women excelling in science was okay. [Laughs]

AI: Well, the reason I'm asking, the reason I'm curious is because I think, at that time, there, I'm guessing there were some men who really believed that women did not belong in medicine as doctors. And I'm, I was wondering if that, if you ever came across that?

RI: Well, I don't think, I don't think that at the University of Texas there was any kind of feeling like that because, you know, I'm just trying to get into medical school and who would be objecting to my applying? Maybe lotta people didn't know I'm applying. And even if I'm in pre-med, I don't know whether I'm segregated as a pre-med student or maybe somebody in science or seeking a B.A. degree in, I think my degree said B.A. in chemistry. So, they don't necessarily know that I am applying for medical school. So, I don't think that I was competing with anybody. I'm trying to get into a medical school and my goal is to try to get a school to accept me, and that was the difficulty because most of the schools wouldn't even consider a Japanese, and then a woman. It was very difficult. In those days the women student composition was more like five percent. Nowadays it's about fifty percent, maybe a little over fifty. So the women now are very fortunate. They don't have to face that. But, fortunately for --

DG: But were you, were you aware that it was going to be a small percentage that you had to compete with?

RI: Yeah, I think so.

DG: And so...

RI: Well, I sure found out fast, when they started turning me down. Yeah.

DG: Did it motivate you?

RI: Well, how could I be motivated to... even if I apply, even if I had top grades, it wouldn't have made much difference, 'cause I'm Japanese. And at that time Japan and America were at war. So...

DG: But you weren't discouraged because of all of that?

RI: Well, I could've been, but then I'm trying, huh? I, well, that's my next step --

DG: Did you talk to anybody, or did you...?

RI: Well, I don't remember that I could talk to anybody other than the family I stayed with, and the school officials. Maybe somebody was helping me.

DG: Well, I think they knew. So maybe they encouraged you.

RI: Yeah, but I don't remember having anybody discourage me.

DG: Well, so maybe they worked hard to encourage you?

RI: Well maybe, because I had never heard about Woman's Medical College before. So somebody must have told me. Maybe, maybe there was a counselor, my counselor or someone who knew about how to apply. So, I'm sure that lotta people helped me --

DG: Oh, because even in --

RI: -- and I wish I could remember who they were.

DG: -- even in my time, fifteen years later, they, it was known and...

RI: It was known.

DG: Yeah.

RI: Well, it had to be known. Maybe... but sometimes I think it probably was better I didn't know any better. I don't remember getting discouraged but I must have been. But, for me to get in, that was something. Wasn't it?

DG: Right.

RI: Yeah, it was something. If I graduated in June, and got in to start by end of August, by September.

AI: Right.

RI: That was pretty good.

<End Segment 27> - Copyright © 2003 Densho. All Rights Reserved.