<Begin Segment 17>

BN: And then you mentioned earlier you went to, I think it was Lick Wilmerding?

SM: Yes, high school.

BN: Was that a special high school?

SM: It was primarily a college prep school combined with a specialty trades type school and skills developed for, needed for certain trades, but it was mainly a college prep school.

BN: Right. And then did you know all along that you were definitely going to college?

SM: Well, I had a feeling that it was important. I remember my father giving me guidance that getting a good education is very important. No matter what field you choose, you got to get a good education. It happened to all of my friends. All of my friends had that same experience of their parents also giving them guidance, "You've got to get a good education." Many of my friends and I went to Berkeley as a result.

BN: And when you were in high school, did you already have a sense of what you wanted to do?

SM: I developed it in high school. I really enjoyed science and math, and that drew me into the engineering field that I chose. But it was a very good school in that regard.

BN: So when you entered Berkeley, you already kind of knew that you wanted to...

SM: Yes, I pretty much knew I wanted to stay in some technical field.

BN: Were your friends in high school some of the same friends from camp and from before the war? Or is it a new...

SM: No. They were from, most of them went to...

BN: Topaz.

SM: ...Topaz, but they were all from the same neighborhood. In fact, we used to commute in the same car to go to Berkeley, but it was all mostly friends from Japantown.

BN: And your friends were mostly Nisei, I assume.

SM: Yes, my age, yeah.

BN: Did you meet your wife, future wife at this point?

SM: That was about that time when I met her at the church, yeah.

BN: Okay. So at Berkeley, were you involved with any... I believe there was like a Nisei student organization and kind of a Nisei dorm, right?

SM: Right, right.

BN: Were you involved in one?

SM: Not really, because I lived at home and I wasn't interested in on-campus residences. No, we just stayed with our group, socialized with our group and going to school.

BN: Did you take part in any of the other college activities, football games and that type of thing?

SM: No, not really. I remember those years when I went, our teams did miserably. I had no interest in going to a losing game, so I really didn't do much in the way of those sports.

BN: And then were there particular professors or so on that had a big impact on you at Berkeley?

SM: Well, there were a few. In particular, I was a member of an engineering honor society and the faculty lead of that organization, Professor Joe Johnson, one day came up to me and said, "How would you like a job working for a very large aerospace company?" At that time it was called Douglas Aircraft, which was eventually bought up by Boeing. And I told him, "Yes, I'm interested." Says, "Well, I think you ought to interview with my brother." And so I went down and interviewed with his brother, Bob Johnson, Robert Johnson, and he made me an offer that I couldn't refuse, it was just unbelievable. It's peanuts today, but in those days, 1956, that was a lot of money. I remember like five hundred dollars a month or so. And I thought, my gosh, here, I'll take it. It was probably the best decision I've ever made, great career I had.

BN: You must have been an outstanding student.

SM: Well, I guess. [Laughs]

BN: So you were able to make that connection in school that led right to this first job. Douglas is down here?

SM: Douglas is in Santa Monica.

<End Segment 17> - Copyright © 2022 Densho. All Rights Reserved.