Off-Islander Goes Local, Returns Home, Makes Good

The dorms that are occupied mostly by Mainland
students have expanded a lot since 1970.

When we went to the Mainland for school, we used to joke about the Mainland kids who came in the other direction. The University of Hawaii was a decent college at the time but wasn't renowned in any field of study (except oceanography and bioscience) so we knew what these kids were likely doing here. Overwhelmingly white and upper-middle class (room and board wasn't cheap), they were in Hawaii to have a good time.

Somehow they had sweet-talked their parents to send them across the Pacific and learn the rigors of independent living in a campus where the beach was a mile away.

Whether or not Scott Swift had similar motivations is unclear. He traveled 5,000 miles to spend his freshman year playing Rainbow football.

Scott Swift’s collegiate football career was brief. The lanky teenager from Pennsylvania transferred to a school closer to home after one season and attended the University of Delaware before becoming a successful wealth manager.

Scott and his daughter Taylor in 2015 (Miller/WSJ)

When Scott Swift was in Hawaii, Al Michaels ("do you believe in miracles?") was a young broadcaster who did the radio for UH sports. Scott Swift calls the presence of Al Michaels his "first brush with fame." Unfortunately, Al Michaels did not remember him.

His second brush with fame has lasted nearly two decades and is still continuing. This time the famous person he knows doesn't have to be reminded who he is.

Scott Swift joins the list of Mainlanders (e.g. actor Beau Bridges and talk-show host Michael Savage) who attended the UH and struck gold later in life. So parents, don't discount their pleadings: it might not be for everyone, but the University of Hawaii may provide just the education your son or daughter needs.