Fast Times At Punahou

But the essence of Punahou may best be captured by Carri Morgan, director of the school's Luke Center for Public Service: "Each year we have a carnival to raise money for our scholarship fund. All the [cooking] oil used to make the fried doughnuts sold at the carnival is put into a biodiesel converter for the kilns in our glassblowing shop."

"We offer three levels of glassblowing," adds Husain.

Thus does Punahou crank out the sort of multilingual, eco-friendly, vase-making young adults who quicken the pulses of college admissions officers. Ninety-seven percent of the class of 2007 matriculated to four-year colleges or universities. Over the last four years Punahou placed 85 students in Ivy League schools, 29 at UCLA, 23 at Stanford, 13 at Pepperdine and 10 at Notre Dame.

"I could've been a better ballplayer and a better student," Obama says now. "But Punahou gave me a great foundation so that when I got older, and wiser, I knew what it was to work hard and strive for excellence. I think it instills that in a lot of kids."

The light goes on earlier for some than for others. Four years ago River Kim was a freshman wide receiver and a bassist in Punahou's orchestra when he cofounded Malama Jam, a benefit concert for the island's homeless. Kim has gone on to Yale, but Malama Jam remains an annual event featuring musicians and dancers from high schools throughout Oahu. The concerts have raised more than $100,000.

Not everyone makes such a big splash, but every student does something. Last fall, when the football team visited the nearby Shriners Hospital, four-star running back recruit Dalton Hilliard befriended a paraplegic boy named Miko, whom he's gone back to visit several times. After Texas-bound volleyball standout Sydney Yogi bonded with a developmentally disabled toddler, she began considering a career in education.

"It's no big deal," says Hilliard about his volunteer work. He quotes his father, Larry, a major in the Marines who is partial to a maxim that might as well be the motto for Punahou:

"To whom much is given, much is expected."