Kuuipo Tom, 60, is the head women's volleyball coach at Susquehanna University in Selinsgrove, Pa. He graduated from Weatherly Area High School and studied at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah and Gulf Coast College in Panama City, Fla. He also graduated from the Pennsylvania State Police Academy and went on to long career with the State Police.
He lives in Montoursville, Pa., with his wife, Lou, who is a professor at Susquehanna.
Fun fact: His first job as a teenager was as a telephone solicitor selling tickets for a Fraternal Order of Police Vaudeville show fund raiser. "I received a commission on every ticket I sold. In 1976 I was 16 years old, had a really low, professional voice and could keep up adult conversations with anyone that I called. I made more money in my 6 months doing that than in any other job I had until I went into the State Police."
Coach Ku'uipo (with volleyball) in action.
(Courtesy of Susquehanna University Sports Information)
What is your proudest accomplishment in your time as the volleyball coach at Susquehanna University?
I have coached here for 17 seasons. While I have numerous accomplishments of which I take great pride, my proudest moment was probably getting the team into the National Tournament for the first time. It happened in 2016 when we received a "Pool C" (at large) bid based on our strength of schedule and success throughout the season. Volleyball became an NCAA sport in 1977 and until 2016, Susquehanna had never been in the tournament. As a matter of fact, only one time previously had any conference team received a bid.
What are some similarities between your former career as a state trooper and being a coach?
Coaching is teaching...so is being a State Trooper. While you hope that your police job doesn't get too dangerous, you spend a lot of time teaching lessons. If you decide to give someone a ticket, it's because you're trying to teach them to make better choices. When you're coaching, you're also teaching and trying to have your team make good choices. You also have to have a lot of understanding and patience. You have to be a good listener, a good analyzer, and able to change things when things change on you. You also have to help people get through really tough times and disappointment as well as guide them into making great decisions that will have an affect on others.
When you take Susquehanna students on the GO Hawai'i program, what food do you absolutely have to have while you’re there?
There is a Hawaiian staple called, "Poi." It's made from the corm (kind of like the bulb of a root) of the Taro plant. It gets pounded into a pudding-like texture and I love it! Most of our students don't care for it. I think it's an acquired taste, but it's really good for you and no one is allergic to it!! I also must have sushi/sashimi called "Poke" (po-kay) from my favorite restaurant in Kaneohe called "Fresh Catch." They have so many different types of poke! I also love kalua pork...the pig that is cooked in an "imu" (underground fire pit made from hot rocks and banana leaves).
You and your wife have driven all over the United States. What has been our favorite state to visit and why?
Other than Hawai'i (naturally!😉) we really like the west and southwestern states. We don't have a particular one that's our favorite, but Utah would be really high on our list. There is so much openness and beauty with tons of National Parks...which we love to visit. We have a National Parks Passport that we take with us everywhere. Whenever you visit a park, you get to officially stamp the book with that park's stamp. I also like to collect walking stick medallions that I attach to my walking stick. It shows all of the places that my stick and I have hiked.
What is your favorite spot in Hawai'i?
I have lots of favorite spots in Hawai'i for so many different reasons, but there is one spot that I might be able to argue as my favorite. It's called Wailua Falls and it's on the most beautiful island of Kaua'i. It's posted so that you can only view it from above...where all of the tourists are...but I know a special path that I follow to the bottom, then swim over to the falls and climb behind them. I always take our students there because I know that they will never experience that again. It's a special place for me and my wife. We exchanged our sappy love for each other under there and promised that whenever we got into a fight...which married people sometimes do...we would remember how special we felt toward each other that day and make the bad feelings go away. It works!
Lou and Ku'uipo in Hawai'i.
(Courtesy of SU alumna Kelly Weigle)
A bonus fact about Coach Ku'uipo: "My name is John Robert Ku'uipo Tom on my birth certificate. In Hawaiian culture you get a few 'Christian names' (often times honorary names of someone in your ancestry...John and Robert were my mother's brothers. She was white as were they). I grew up being known only as "Kuuipo Tom" but when I went into the State Police they didn't like that name, so they made me use my first name and had me officially change it on all my legal documents. I was so angry about it but I wanted to get through the academy without a lot of nonsense, so I complied. For 25+ years new people in my life would know me as 'John' but my friends and family would only call me 'Ku'uipo.' You can imagine how crazy that was. Once I retired I went back to using 'Ku'uipo' but it's too hard to change it on my official documents."
Thank you Coach Ku'uipo for being a very fun and informative interview!! I love U.S. history and geography and I loved hearing your stories of places I haven't seen!
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