August 24, 1953

Miss Jacqueline Gering
1004 Redwood Drive
Green Bay, Wisconsin

Dear Miss Gering:
Thank you for your letter of August 14.

I wonder if you will not get the best advice on planning your
college curriculum from your own teachers and advisers at Beloit
College. They surely will be a in better position to tell you what
courses ara available thore,agd to help you to evaluate your best
talents. If you are planing to go into scientific research in bac-
teriology, it will be more important for you to acculre = sound edu-
cation in cultural and sclentific fundamentals than in too much tech-
nical detail in thie specialty. This you can better pick up in your
graduate training. Only if you have somewhat less anbitious aime of
technical work in this field would it be appropriate for you to insist
on the narrower curriloulun of something like the medica? technologists’
progran. But as I already stated, you will get much sounder advice
from peoplo who can know your needs and yourself more intimately.

If I may close with a more personal word, I would say that no single
college or postgraduate course wan particularly helpful. Much more im-
portant 1:. the habit of inquiry, and of reading booke ond journals to go
more dee: y Into ths subjects which are nerely touched upon by courses.

With cordial best wishes,
Yours sincerely,

Joshua Lederberg
Asacclate Professor of Genetics

P.S. Three or four years from now, won't you let me Imew how you make out’