in 1965, woo received a b.a. in english from san francisco state university. in 1969, woo received a m.a. in english literature from san francisco state university. while in college woo met and married her husband, with whom she had two children. it was while she was studying for her m.a. that woo witnessed the 1968–69 third world student strikes at the university, which had a huge impact on her becoming an activist. woo also believes that these strikes had a positive impact on her ability to later find work.