Hooker's mother, Jessie Bethel, who had a third grade education, told her to pursue an education because that was the only thing that could not be taken away from her. The Gentry family was not wealthy in the least, and Hooker was further stigmatized by her nearly stature. Still an advocate of education, Jessie Bethel enrolled her daughter at Sterling High School, which was large and unusually progressive for the time. There, Hooker was in an honors program and was able to take a course in psychology. Hooker wanted to go to a teachers college, but her instructors saw her potential and encouraged her to go to the University of Colorado. By the time she was ready to graduate, she had obtained a scholarship to the University of Colorado Boulder (UCB).