she attended the university of california in davis. at college she was in a veterinary program. she transferred schools to san jose state university after two years. fossey earned a bachelor degree of arts degree in occupational therapy. she became a very good horseback rider in college. she worked at a hospital in kentucky for disabled children. fossey was inspired by a book about mountain gorillas. she decided to travel to africa to study gorillas. she met louis leakey who is a famous anthropologist. leakey hired fossey study gorillas for a long time. fossey observed gorillas for many years. fossey later earned a phd from cambridge college in england. the phd was for her gorilla research.