Helen Mineta

Helen Mineta, formerly a student of San Jose State College, wanted to be a teacher but was counseled that her Japanese ancestry would prevent her from being hired. Instead, she worked as a secretary in the Speech Department. In 1942, she was assigned to assist at the Men's Gym, later renamed Uchida Hall, processing Japanese American citizens for incarceration. The Mineta family, including Helen's brother Norman, were soon after incarcerated in Wyoming, however, according to her obituary, Helen spent this time working as a secretary for a chemical company in Chicago. She ultimately did become a teacher in San José, and a speaker on Japanese American Incarceration. (San Jose State La Torre, 1942)