Of all the completions by quarterback Ikaika Woolsey at UH, the most significant was when he finished work on his bachelor’s degree this past week.

“I’ll be the first person in my family to get a degree,” said Woolsey, who will participate in today’s UH commencement ceremony in the Stan Sheriff Center. “It’s kind of big for me. It means a lot.”

Woolsey, a 2011 Salesian High graduate, delayed enrolling at UH until January 2012. Because he redshirted in 2012 to extend his college window to five years, Woolsey decided to major in family resources and sociology.

“I didn’t feel like stretching out one major,” Woolsey said of adding a second field. “I figured, if I’m going to get my school paid for, I might as well get as much as I can in my time here.”

Head coach Nick Rolovich said Woolsey is “a good example of a student-athlete who understands the worth of the scholarship and the opportunity that he earned. He can be somebody we point to for a long time for doing it the right way.”

Woolsey said a finance class was his favorite. “It taught us how to invest and how it’s never too early to start thinking about your retirement,” Woolsey said.

Soon after that, he opened a savings account. Boosted from income from an off-season job, the balance is now more than $5,000. “It’s not too much, but it makes sense about the things (the professor) taught us — wants compared to needs,” Woolsey said.

Football and his acquired passion, golf, helped Woolsey expand his circle of friends. At one time, his golf group appeared to be assembled randomly. Taylor Graham, who was raised in Illinois and attended Ohio State for two years, is the son of a former NFL quarterback. Quinton Pedroza, who was raised in Chino, Calif., started his college career at Utah. Scott Harding was a professional Australian rules football player who enrolled at UH when he was 24. Jason Muraoka, who served as the team hair stylist, was a walk-on from Kamehameha Schools.

“I got to meet people from all over, and we got along really well,” Woolsey said. “The relationships I built will definitely be with me the rest of my life. I met a lot of real close friends here. It was because of football. Football opened up a lot of doors for me on and off the field.”

Woolsey has admittedly changed, and not just because he cut the long hair he sported when he first enrolled. “I definitely matured a lot living out on my own,” Woolsey said. “I was able to grow up and be a man.”

That was evident in how he handled being supplanted as the No. 1 quarterback after this season’s fourth game.

“I’m not really a selfish person,” said Woolsey, who still is the No. 1 holder. “A selfish person could be mad and sulking. That was never me. That’s never been my personality growing up. I’m trying to make the best of my situation. I’m a senior. I’m trying to be a good leader. Whatever they want me to do, I’m going to do it 100 percent.”