Kamehameha School senior Ariana Aiwohi is getting a taste of working in the hotel industry this summer in an internship at the Waikiki Beach Marriott Resort.

"It's hard work," said Aiwohi, who has worked in various parts of the hotel, including in the housekeeping department. "But everyone's really nice."

Aiwohi said she probably won't choose a career in housekeeping, but would like to work in a hotel's human resources department after graduating from college.

Aiwohi is one of 40 high school students of Hawaiian ancestry participating in the internship program sponsored by Marriott and the Queen Lili'uokalani Children's Center.

For about a month now, the interns have immersed themselves in the bustling hotel industry, not only to discover the ins and outs of tourism but also to learn the importance of conveying the spirit and culture of aloha to those visiting the Islands.

The students, will finish the remainder of their six-week internship as they work in the various departments in the hotels. The program was started by the Queen Lili'uokalani Children's Center in 1999 and receives its funding from the Queen Lili'uokalani Trust Fund.

In past years, the program placed interns at the JW Marriott Ihilani Resort & Spa and the Ko Olina Beach Club. The Waikiki Beach Marriott was added this year, and organizers eventually hope to expand the internship program to Marriott hotels in Maui and Kaua'i.

Marriott's goal is to bring awareness of the hotel industry to as many students as possible. By educating students about the industry the company hopes the students will consider a career in the hotel business after they graduate.

"(The) hospitality business is a great business to be involved in," said Chris Tatum, the general manager of the Waikiki Marriott. "We are focused on bringing leadership from folks in Hawai'i as much as possible. Tourists are looking for more than beautiful beaches and hotels; they want Native Hawaiian descent."

Tatum said that when tourists come to Hawai'i they especially enjoy the culture they cannot experience at home. "Its like going to Europe. You don't want want to see Americans when you're in Europe, you want to see Europeans."

Tatum said the program has been a success so far as students return from college —either in Hawai'i or on the Mainland —to work in the hotel and tourism industry.

Also promoting the aloha spirit at the hotel is Waianu Quin, Marriott Hawaiian consultant advisor, who took the interns on a two-hour tour of Waikiki's Native Hawaiian historical sites.

"They're my future, so if they don't get educated they go out on the streets," said Quin, stressing the importance not only of higher education but an increased understanding of Native Hawaiian heritage as well.

"Hospitality is work and play," said Quin. "If they know where they stand (culturally), then they can take that patriotism with them."

The interns from the Ihilani Resort and Ko Olina Beach Club traveled to Waikiki yesterday and together with their counterparts from the Waikiki Beach Marriott Resort performed a traditional Hawaiian oli, or chant.

In the oli, the students asked and received permission to be on the land that once was Queen Lili'uokalani's home in the 19th century.

"Queen Lili'uokalani has received her children back again," said Junior Ekau, intern coordinator of the internship program, referring to the queen's land and the Native Hawaiian trust fund she left behind. "That really excites us; it's a warm, fuzzy feeling."