On June 2, I was invited to go to the NBA city lounge to the SAP’s SAPPHIRE NOW dinner. This was also the first appearance I’ve had as a Florida State Ambassador; I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect from this dinner, but I was very happy with the result of how the night went.
This dinner was very fascinating as I was the only kid in the entire event, but the people I spoke to treated me as if I were just like them. I’ve met a number of SAP members. Some positions were in global marketing, a man who has been through almost all the positions in his company; a very kind woman who has been involved in SAP’s nonprofit organization to now be in the company in San Francisco where she works with about 30 other employees around the country to discuss the help that SAP would like to provide to other organizations who need help; finally I’ve met a man who was in charge of a new, but attractive project that involved sports with technology. His group works on apps that the stadiums and arenas use to run things smoothly, for instance, they are working on having a baseball stadium provide a free app that you can order your food, check the bathroom lines, and also know the status of the game that you’re currently watching.
I had the privilege to meet Bonnie Bernstein, one of the most successful female sports journalists. She has an interest in child health and she is thankful that there are organizations like us, Fuel Up to Play 60. Her speech and conversation with me had really given me a different, but positive view on my responsibility to help the kids in my community to be more healthy and fit.
Some things that I would tell students who ever have to appear to events for Fuel Up to Play 60 would be to be confident and be yourself. Another thing would be that these people aren’t grading you on what you’re telling them, meaning that you can have a conversation with them and also speak about your experience with the program. I was asked a lot of questions about my future plans and even the hobbies and sports I was into. You will do absolutely great and always have fun, because it’s always an event that you will learn from when you leave.
Nicole
Florida State Ambassador
12th Grade
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I spent 4 days in Orlando, FL at the SAP SAPPHIRE NOW Conference. I hopped on a plane early Tuesday morning with my mother and a suitcase full of business clothing and binders for the finals that would start the next week I got back. This would be my second SAP event I attended. The first one was in Miami at the Sony Open tennis tournament. The first night I was in Orlando we went to a very good restaurant. I got to meet the two other very cool student Ambassadors that were also invited to go to SAPPHIRE NOW and the secret, magical miracle worker behind the Student Ambassador email.
The purpose of our trip was to be student reporters representing GENYOUth Foundation. The three of us each covered a topic or “beat.” I covered all topics on healthcare and learned so much from my time talking to people. One of the most interesting things I learned is that if heart monitors or other types of monitors aren’t processing data fast enough, the nursing station won’t be notified something has gone wrong until seconds later. So, fast data collection can be the difference between life and death.
Overall SAPPHIRE NOW was amazing. It was such a great opportunity and one that may not ever be able to be matched. Things like this are some of my favorite aspects of being a Fuel Up to Play 60 Ambassador and it’s something all Ambassadors should pursue to try to experience.
Noa
Youth Council Member
Maine
10th Grade
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Orlando, FL was definitely a good learning experience. With all of the interviews that I did, it was a little hard but it turned out to be fun. My impressions of SAP were that it was very unique while cool at the same time. At SAP, they use very big words and hard vocabulary, so it was hard to understand. But after a while, I got used to it, and realized that SAP is a very good business that does many good things for the world. My favorite part of the SAPPHIRE NOW Conference, with no doubt, was the amazing interviews with great people. Interviewing people was a good experience because I got to learn about them and what they had to say. In conclusion, the SAPPHIRE NOW conference was a wonderful time with all of the things I learned and got to share!
Chris
AdVenture Capital Winner
Washington
9th Grade
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SAP is such a huge and important company and going to the SAP SAPPHIRE NOW Conference really proved that to me. I got to really understand what SAP does and why it is such a big company. I also got to learn why so many other companies depend on SAP. My impression of SAP is that the company is truly incredible. They do data networking for so many large companies and it is really fascinating to me. Without the company SAP, many large companies such as Apple and the NFL would not have the data networking they need. It is also fascinating that just one person can run the entire company with the help of all SAP employees.
I had the chance to interview Bill McDermott (the sole CEO of SAP) and a few of the many employees who work for SAP including Robert Enslin (President of Global Customer Operations and Executive Board member), Kaustav Mitra (Head of the SAP Start Up Focus Program), Tracey Arnish (Global Head of Talent Acquisition at SAP) and many more and it was an incredible experience. They shared some really great advice with me and I got to learn how to give a proper interview which is something I had never done before! My favorite parts of attending the conference were getting to meet so many incredible people and hearing their stories. I also enjoyed seeing what SAP consists of and what the company does. My SAPPHIRE NOW experience was nothing I had ever done before and I am extremely grateful for the opportunity.
Kaitlyn
AdVenture Capital Winner
Indiana
11th Grade
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