Initial Interest in Law

Early Childhood Being “Half” in Japan Sexual Orientation as a Youth How Title IX Changed Her Life Initial Interest in Law Judge Marie Milks—Her Hero and a Mentor On Being an Asian American Woman in Law Confidence as a young Asian American woman Not coming out at work until 1991 Becoming the First LGBTQ Judge to Serve on the Hawaii Supreme Court Impact of Coming Out on Her Family Impact of Coming Out Publicly in the US and Japan Message for Young People

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But when I went to the University of Hawaii and I learned that I was given a scholarship because of Title IX, and I thought I ended up studying to be a Japanese English interpreter.

That's what I was planning to do. I was thinking, Oh, I think I want to go to the United Nations and be a Japanese English interpreter. But as I progressed in law school, I started thinking, you know - I'm sorry - as I progressed in college, I started thinking, I don't really just want to interpret what other people are saying.

I think I want to have a voice and also to give other people a voice, especially when I learned about Title IX and how this one Japanese-American woman congressperson was able to make such a big difference in the lives of so many people, including me. And I learned about the power of the law.

Also when I was a junior, one of my friends who played volleyball for the University of Hawaii and was the Scholar-Athlete of the Year for the University of Hawaii, started law school.

And I remember thinking, wow, athletes can go to law school. And that's when I started thinking, I think I might consider it. And but it wasn't until my senior year in college that I seriously considered applying to law school.

Date: July 14, 2022
Location: California, US
Interviewer: Lana Kobayashi
Contributed by: Watase Media Arts Center, Japanese American National Museum; Japanese American Bar Association

Law Patsy Takemoto Mink Title IX University of Hawaii