Yoko Suzuki claimed to be a student at Raccoon University prior to the epidemic which destroyed the city. She may or may not have actually attended the univiersity; however, she was employed by the Umbrella Corporation and had spent time at the underground research facility headed by William Birkin as a scientist and computer technician. Yoko was one of a group of eight survivors who escaped from Raccoon City shortly before the city was bombed to the ground.
History
Yoko was an employee of the Umbrella Corporation at least as early as 1996, and her employment apparently extended up to the destruction of Raccoon City. In 1996, Yoko participated in at least one experiment involving the t-virus. The details of the experiment are not totally clear, but an Umbrella document lists her as a "t-virus patient".1 While escaping from the city, Yoko remembered that "base cells" had been taken from her body for use in the Tyrant program, and Umbrella researcher Greg Mueller was somehow involved. Yoko became acquainted with Greg and another researcher; Monica. Following an accident, Yoko's memory of the experiment and the ensuing accident were selectively 'erased' by Greg and she continued her employment at Umbrella.
When the t-virus spread through Raccoon City, Yoko took shelter at J's Bar, where she cut her hair and changed her clothes to adopt the persona of a university student. She fell in with a group of people who eventually managed to evacuate from the city. After escaping from Raccoon City, Yoko was one of several former Umbrella personnel who testified against the corporation in the government's investigation of Umbrella's role in the disaster which began in 1999.