JOB SHADOWING

Tourism students learn new skills

By Dennis Fujimoto – The Garden Island

PO‘IPU – Nine of the 21 Academy of Hospitality and Tourism (AOHT) students from Kaua‘i High School spent their Girls Day “shadowing” various professionals at the Kaua‘i Sheraton as part of the academy’s Job Shadow Day experience.

Normally part of a National Groundhog Job Shadow Day program, this year’s event had to be moved back due to scheduling conflicts.

However, this in no way diluted the experience students got because of the date change. In some cases, like the three shadows assigned to the county’s Office of Economic Development, Film Commission department, the date change entailed longer hours due to the appearance of students from the Chiba Keizai College that are currently wrapping up a two-week study tour at the Kaua‘i Community College.

Arriving at the Garden Court promptly at their assigned time, the nine students were met by Debbie Yanagihara, and the handson learning began as a Sheraton Kaua‘i guest became involved in getting a group shot of the student interns before the group trooped across the street to meet Angela Vento, the resort’s general manager for general orientation to the Po‘ipu property.

More surprises lay in store for the students who, among the orientation notes, discovered that Vento started 22 years ago with the resort chain in the housekeeping department.

“Where you sit is not important,” Vento told the nine aspiring students. “What is important is all the people who work around you.”

With a parting tip on how attitude impacts life, the students were dispatched to their various departments where junior Grecean Manuel discovered that you need to take advantage of windows when they become open.

The Sheraton Kaua‘i experience was the first one for Manuel, and upon being teamed with Sheraton Kaua‘i baker Marcial Geronimo, learned that when Geronimo arrived here, his original goal was a career as an auto mechanic.

He applied for a job at the Sheraton Kaua‘i as well as with the Army National Guard where he intended to work while pursuing his goal of being an auto mechanic. Geronimo started his road when he was hired by the Sheraton before the Guard as a dish-washer.

Geronimo, who also has children in high school, said one of his sons is pursuing a career in auto mechanics, but for himself, he takes pride in his job that came when his Executive Chef, Bert Matsuoka, recognized his potential and elevated him from his position as a dishwasher. That window came when the former baker was pulled out and sent to Honolulu creating a vacancy. Matsuoka approached Geronimo about filling the slot.

From there, Geronimo was sent to O‘ahu for six weeks of training where he worked under bakers at the Royal Hawaiian before returning to Po‘ipu where he was promoted to baker, a position he’s held since 1989.

“Every day you learn something,” Geronimo said. “You feed the customers. You make the customers happy – that’s the main goal. The job just comes.”

“A lot of us start from the bottom,” Geronimo said, echoing Vento’s orientation talk to the students. Ashley Naka‘ahiki, a senior, was spending her second internship in the kitchen to reinforce her aspirations of becoming a pastry chef.

Naka‘ahiki, whose father formerly worked at Kilohana as a chef, currently works with her parents in tropical flowers, but said it was a family tradition to be working in the kitchen, and plans on attending the Kaua‘i Community College culinary arts program when she graduates in June.

Saundri Harris, one of the kitchen workers at the Sheraton Kaua‘i is a graduate of the KCC culinary arts program, and said she went to school while holding down a full-time job at the Sheraton kitchens.

“It’s a lot of learning,” Harris, who completed the culinary arts program in two years, said. “I got to work, and go school at the same time.”

Roland Antonio, who came over to help Geronimo move the completed batter for banana bread, added that he, too, was a KCC culinary arts graduate, his graduation coming in 1993.

The AOHT shadows were exposed to a diverse plate of assignments as a pair of Ashleys, Fujinaga and Valencia, sat back and listened as Sheraton Kaua‘i concierge Dolores Fernandez explained how you never say “no.”

Jessica Bran was assigned to “Events,” Jordan Ramboyon was tasked to “Keiki Aloha,” Yanagihara joking about the fishing expedition that takes place as part of that tour

E.J.Resinto, the only boy in the group of nine, was tasked to the Food and Beverage department while Kathleen Constantino went to “Rooms,” and Whitney Machado discovered “Events.”

Three more students, Marissa Albarado, Jared Park, and Lanie Carbonel were tasked to Chuck Brady at the Waiohai Marriott.

“Oh, that’s who we saw having breakfast,” chirped Suzanne Aguiar of the Po‘ipu Beach Resort Association said while enjoying the Sheraton property on the occasion of her birthday as she and PBRA Executive Assistant Krista Kumalae returned from an errand there.

Michael Hirahara made the trek out to the Westside where he spent the day with Shawn Reese at General Dynamics, while Roshelle Palalay was closer to the campus at the Kaua‘i Visitors Bureau where she spent the day shadowing Sue Kanoho.

Rheanne Ragasa, Nicole Iglesia, and Nichole Longboy spent the day at the airport, Ragasa working with Dominic Cerelejia at United Airlines while Debra Mata of Aloha Airlines took in Iglesia and Longboy.

Kathleen Morden spent her day with Laurie Chow at Hilo Hattie’s, and Shanna Pena’s aspiration of being a film maker was put into practice as she, Ryo Shintani, and Ted Shibata worked with Kaua‘i Film Commissioner Art Umezu who was tasked with hosting the visiting students from the Chiba Keizai College. The scripting was almost textbook as Pena rolled the video camera while Shibata and Shintani presented each student with a lei and a Kaua‘i gift package. Lon Malapit, the KCC coordinator for the visiting students, noted, “Those girls love all the attention they’re getting.”

Dennis Fujimoto, photographer and staff writer, 245-3681 (ext. 253) and at dfujimoto@pulitzer.net.