<Begin Segment 29>

AI: What, what were some of your thoughts about college? Here you were returning after having been out of school for so long.

MN: I loved it. [Laughs] In fact, when I went to Seattle Community College, I think I was the oldest student there. But they accepted me, and I enjoyed it thoroughly. And then I moved on to University of Washington, but since I had the five boys at home yet, I only took ten hours a quarter, no more, 'cause I couldn't do my homework and still keep up the household. So eventually, I was in PTA and active in other things, I dropped everything 'cause school was taking too much of my time. But it took me eight years. That's the wrong way to do it, because it's an expensive way, when you're only going ten hours a quarter. But then when my boys started to go to college, and I go, "Wow." One day I saw somebody walking on the campus, I go, "Oh, he sure looks familiar." [Laughs] And when he got closer, it was my son. Anyway, so regretfully, I had to leave in the spring, I guess it was eight years later, I don't know what year it was, and I graduated. And it was a very satisfying experience.

AI: Well, you must have been among the early women who, after having kids, decided to go to college.

MN: Yeah, there weren't too many senior citizens. There are a lot now, I understand, but no, not at that time.

AI: So as one of the older women who kind of stuck out, you must have been kind of a curiosity, a unique student among the student body. Did, were people making cracks about it?

MN: No, no, they accepted. Like I can remember when I went to a lecture hall, in Kane Hall, and you know how big that is, I decided to tape the lecture, and I put on the tape, and all of a sudden, a blast of loud music came out of their tape. [Laughs] I was mortified. So some of those adventures.

AI: What about your kids and your husband? What was their reaction to your going to school?

MN: He never complained. My husband never complained about me going to school or how I kept at it and, you know, kept going all those years, because I did put him through four years of school. So he never complained about me going to school. And my kids, I was going so long, they just took it for granted.

AI: Or did your husband ever make any comment about, "Oh, you're turning into a women's libber, here you're going to school or not at home as much, not doing as much in the PTA," or whatever?

MN: No, he never complained about that. But then, you do change your way of thinking.

AI: Tell me about that. Change in what way?

MN: Well, just like even for the redress for the Seattle School District, all the Nisei women who were there at the twenty-seven, I don't know, there were about -- I don't know how many were at the first meeting, but nobody spoke up. Nobody would offer to do anything. And I go, "Oh, this is typical Nisei women." And then finally I spoke up and I said, "Yeah, I'll do it." And so the others followed in. But I think the schooling had a lot to do with that.

AI: In what way?

MN: Gave you more confidence, and I didn't used to argue with my husband about little subjects, but I used to... you're more in tune with what's going on.

AI: And so as a result of being in class and debating ideas...

MN: And being with the young people, I loved it.

<End Segment 29> - Copyright © 2004 Densho. All Rights Reserved.