<Begin Segment 23>

TI: So, Tosh, this third section where we left you last was you were at the University of Hawaii working at the Halekulani Hotel, and so why don't we pick up the story back up there. You're now at the University of Hawaii, so what happens next?

TM: I went to the University of Hawaii and went there for two years. I was interested in medicine so I took a pre-med course. That meant that you had to get to the mainland to go to a mainland university. Pre-med was a very difficult area because getting to med school was quite difficult. It's competitive. And then I realized at that point that it's going to be expensive, but nevertheless, I applied to the University of Louisville, they having a medical school. So I left for the University of Louisville.

TI: And before you go to University of Louisville, so you mentioned this was going to be expensive, you know, the travel expenses to go to the mainland, the tuition for a mainland school, all of a sudden it's a lot more expensive than going to the University of Hawaii, where you could essentially pay for it all on your own. What kind of discussion did you have with the family about you doing this?

TM: Well, I mentioned to the family that getting to the medical school was quite expensive. I had taken the pre-med track, but my studies could lead me to other areas and I'm also interested in chemistry, so I am looking also seriously going into the chemical field. And so my track is to look ahead and have that medical set up on one side but being able to lean on to chemistry. In the meantime I applied -- this was not known to anybody -- I applied to a school of osteopathy in Chicago. I was accepted to that school but at other medical schools I was rejected. I visited the Chicago school. They wanted me to enroll and when I, later at the University of Louisville, decided that it would be too expensive, I wrote a letter to the school saying that I would not be enrolling there, that and honestly I will be taking the chemical track and I'll be going to a university to get my chemical degree. And that was the situation so while at the University of Louisville, after I got my degree, I wanted to get into a graduate school, a chemical one.

TI: So let me just make sure I understand this. So when you were first applying, there was a medical school in Chicago that was willing to accept you but you chose the University of Louisville, was that because of cost? I wasn't quite sure why you chose Louisville over the school in Chicago.

TM: No, to make it correct, I was at the University of Louisville and finishing my senior year and I had enough credits to get into the (...) Chicago university. So at University of Louisville I applied (to) the School of Osteopathy and they accepted me. So it's similar to trying to get into a med school after you get your degree.

TI: Exactly, so it's kind of like when you're graduating from the University of Louisville, this is where you had to really decide whether medicine or chemistry?

TM: Right.

TI: Okay, got it. And what was your undergraduate degree at Louisville?

TM: I was in chemistry, I got my degree in chemistry and I, apparently I had pretty good grades so I was inducted into their honor society called the Woodcock Society. They did not have a (Phi Beta Kappa) at that time so I had been a member of the Woodcock Society. They picked up about eight percent of the graduates to induct (into) the Woodcock Society. Other than that, I went strictly to the chemical track and then applied to several Big Ten schools. I wanted to get into a Big Ten school because I thought at that time, they were the tops as far as the chemical fields were concerned. Unfortunately during my high school years and in my college we did not have any guidance. In other words, we didn't have guidance to help us get into whatever we wanted, so all these things that I did were on my own. I had to find my own track, lead my way, and here and there I made my mistakes. And then finally ended up and took chemistry.

TI: And so after Louisville you decided to go the chemistry track, so where did you go after Louisville?

TM: After getting my degree, bachelor's degree at Louisville I applied to several Big Ten schools, Illinois, Ohio State, Indiana and Iowa. The first school that accepted me was Ohio State University, so once I was accepted, I wrote to the other schools, saying that I would not, you know, apply to their schools. In the fall of 1949, I attended the University of Hawaii in the graduate school division.

TI: In 1949 you were in the University of Hawaii?

TM: No, 1949 I graduated in June from University of Louisville, then that September I went to Ohio State University.

TI: To start the graduate program?

TM: Yes.

TI: And you mentioned the Big Ten, why Big Ten versus the West Coast or the East Coast? What was it about the Big Ten that was interesting to you?

TM: Well, for one thing, (...), the Big Ten schools were not segregated. I went to University of Louisville and while there, the school was segregated and I wanted to go to a school that was open, had a good track record and the Big Ten schools were my ideal schools to get into.

TI: Okay, but then did you consider places like Berkeley or UCLA which had really good sort of chemistry departments, especially Berkeley probably had a really good chemistry department?

TM: It seems like I was so concerned, so decided on getting to a Big Ten school, the California schools did not interest me.

TI: Okay. And during this time, like summers, would you go back to Hawaii or would you stay on the mainland during this time period? You know, after you graduated from Louisville, did you return to Hawaii to visit the family or did you stay on the mainland?

TM: I returned to the family and I did some summer work. I worked at the plantation... I mean, pineapple canneries and every summer that I returned home I got a job at one of the canneries. And that was sufficient to pay my airfare to get back.

<End Segment 23> - Copyright © 2011 Densho. All Rights Reserved.