“I put no experience because I’ve never had a real job.” Keoni, a high school junior who lives across the street from my uncle in Pearl City, asked me last winter break to read his application for a front desk job in Waikiki. He runs the window at his aunt’s plate lunch stand on weekends and fixes wrong orders. But when I role-played a hotel guest whose room wasn’t ready, all Keoni said was “sorry” four times. He never heard back from the hotel.

I’m hosting Front Desk Ready, a free one-day workshop for 24 Oahu high school juniors and seniors on Saturday, December 19, 2026, at Pearl City District Park. In the morning, half the students will work a mock hotel front desk, checking in a guest whose room isn’t ready. The other half will write a resume with my help. Then the two groups will switch.

I initially planned to spend the entire day helping the students write their resumes. But my uncle’s friend Leilani Kahale, who hires front desk staff for a Waikiki hotel, told me she spends 30 seconds looking at an entry-level resume and makes her decision during the interview. So, in the afternoon, Leilani and Marcus Ige (front office manager at another Waikiki hotel) will each mock interview 12 students for 12 minutes and give them a feedback card.

Leilani said that most teenagers she turns away have never sat through an interview. A hospitality teacher at a Leeward Oahu high school is giving my flyer to her students, and Keoni is texting his friends to sign up. Any remaining spots on December 11 will be opened to a Pearl City teacher’s class.

When the students sign up, I will ask if they’ve ever applied for a job or had an interview. Of the nine students signed up so far, two have applied and one has had an interview. In late February, I’ll text them to ask again and send the results to the trustees. I’d like half of the students to have applied. Keoni plans to apply again this spring, and he asked if he could play the guest whose room isn’t ready.