While in this internment camp, Irene was asked to be the principal of a school for children of internees because of her university education. After her father chose to return to his wife in Japan as an exchange for Allied prisoners of war, Irene accepted the support of the United Church, which offered her a place to stay and encouraged her to finish her degree at University of Toronto. Uchida earned a Bachelor of Arts in 1946, intending to continue her education by getting a Master's degree in social work.