When Thressa was eleven, her father died
suddenly, which left the family in a difficult situation
during the depths of the Great Depression. Yet she
excelled in her high school. Thressa sang the song, "Our
aim: Don't dodge difficulties," with her high-school
classmates at her 1936 commencement. She was valedictorian
of her class. Thressa had already developed a strong
sense of independence and responsibility, along with
intellectual maturity, in her teenage years.
Thressa entered Cornell University on
a New York State Regents Scholarship and supported herself
by working as a waitress for four hours a day. She graduated
in 1940 with a B.S. in microbiology. Thressa then worked
as a bacteriologist in a company that produced paper
containers for milk, but she did not find this industrial
job very stimulating. After some months, Thressa moved
to the New York State Agricultural Station in Geneva,
where she conducted research on the vitamin requirements
of lactic acid bacteria and she also took courses at
Cornell. In two years Thressa received an M.S. in bacteriology
and nutrition from Cornell. She decided to continue
her education at the University of California, Berkeley.
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