Radina's Story
Software Development Intern at SAP Labs in Palo Alto, California
Today it’s exactly 5 months since the first day of my internship. On my first day, SAP has organized an Onboarding Session for all new hires. I met my mentor and was introduced to the team. I was positively surprised by the open space office in the Bay Area, which in my opinion, very much contributes to the great team work in our SAP group.
In the first few weeks I learned a lot about the product we are working on: Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP). Reading through all the internal documents, attending the team meetings, and working closely with other interns, with the developers, chief architects, and product managers in my team, turned out to be a key for a successful start. I appreciate the fact that next to a great team work, I was also given the opportunity to work on new topics myself and thus assume greater responsibility.
Besides the amazing working environment, I have made really good friends among the other interns and my colleagues. Every week we have some team activities, e.g. playing basketball in the lunch break on Tuesday, going for a team run on Wednesday morning, or going for a hike on Friday after work. Sometimes we also go out for a team dinner. It is great that interns are considered as part of the team and welcome to participate in all of these activities. Next to all the team activities, SAP organizes diverse company-wide events as well, e.g. an Intern Casino Night, a Bay Area Summer Picnic, an Oktoberfest on all Campuses, the SAP Runners Cup, a Halloween Costume Contest and Party, a Thanksgiving Party, and last but not least an upcoming Winter Party. I look at all of these activities as a great opportunity to get together with colleagues from different teams, different cultures, with different backgrounds and to exchange experience with them.
During my stay in the United States so far I was able to experience the cultural environment, contribute to the society by engaging in diverse volunteer initiatives, and further broaden my perspective. The skills and competencies acquired during my internship as well as the invaluable experience gained abroad will allow me to fulfill both my personal and professional goals to follow a career in my field of interest: innovative product development.
I sincerely believe that my period of stay in the United States will allow me to build upon my experiences and to develop into a successful young business woman who cares about her peers and her region. I can definitely confirm that this is the most invaluable lifetime experience for me so far!