Personal Insights
Blog it Forward – Ivona Crnoja
Hey there, Hallo, Hola, Bonjour, Dobar Dan!
Hello there SAP Community! Being fairly new to the SAP Community and in desperate need for more followers (help!) I took on the challenge forwarded to me by Pierre COL and will try to give you a little glimpse into my little world and hopefully find a new way of connecting with you. Thank you Pierre!
So Who am I?
Let me start off with the Basics
My name: Ivona
I was born in: Former Yugoslavia, currently the area of Bosnia & Herzegovina (It’s a complicated country but SO pretty! You should go!)
I was raised in: Germany (Saarland – the place that invented the Lyoner and the Schwenker)
I speak: 5 Languages (Serbo-Croatian, German, English, Spanish, French + a tiny little bit of Mandarin)
I consider myself a: Voyager
And more importantly a: Taco Lover
Though currently I am eating: Pretzels and Currywurst in Berlin
Why Voyager? I am a little restless, never stop seeking the unknown and get bored if I stay in the same place for too long. Which is why in the past 5 years I called various places my home:
- Tablecloth, Braii and Biltong – Cape Town, South Africa
- Mannekin Pis, Gaufres and Frites – Brussels, Belgium
- Banks, Handkäs and Grüne Soße – Frankfurt, Germany
- Tacos, tacos and más tacos – Mexico City, Mexico
- Kafka, Beer and Buchty – Czech Republic
- Currywurst, History and Art – Berlin, Germany
But gone are the times of teenage irresponsibility. Being an adult now and trying to be a decent human, the environmental pollution needs to stop, and with this my restlessness. So, it’s time to create a base – Heidelberg, Germany. Which brings me to my next point – SAP.
How did you start in SAP?
I started my “SAP” -career with Concur in Frankfurt, where I was writing my Master dissertation developing a GTM strategy for a new Concur market – which was a huge success. I got hooked but had to finish my studies with an internship abroad first. I was nevertheless not ready to yet give up on SAP and being a multinational corporation with offices all over the world it was not hard to find an internship with SAP abroad. So, I landed with SAP in Prague where I spent awesome 6 months – I only say free monthly back massages and meeting rooms with billiard tables in it!!
After my internship and 5 years of intensive studying I decided to take a short break and – ended up living in Mexico City for a year where I was working as a freelance writer. But hooked as I was, I was being pulled back to Germany, my family but also SAP who just seemed to be the right fit for me. With my new passion and experience in writing and being back in Germany, my current position was simply calling out for me – Communications for SAP AI Business Services. Which brings me to Pierre`s second questions:
Can you describe in one short sentence: “what need does your SAP solution meet”?
SAP AI Business Services automate and optimize business processes out-of-the-box across the intelligent suite – thanks to AI and Machine Learning craftsmanship!
You might have figured – I love working for SAP. But more than that I love working with my awesome team. A bunch of intelligent, dedicated, passionate and creative experts who just seem to never get tired of going the extra mile. And I am so grateful and honoured for being a part of this team.
And since it is Friday afternoon and we are all waiting to start our well deserved weekend let me answer Pierre`s last questions before I let you go:
If you were 20 again, what would you study?
If I was 20 again, I might not study at all. In Germany there is a general attitude that studying or taking the academic route is just what everyone does! Many students are not even considering other possibilities to studying. Though I do believe that a degree can be extremely beneficial it certainly is not the only way to a successful career. I could imagine going for an apprenticeship and learning a craft, where you can use your creativity more often than in a regular office job. Or establishing yourself as a freelancer or securing an entry-level job straight away and learn your profession by actually doing it. The world is full of possibilities that do not require you to go the “classic” career path and might be worth considering.
Thank you for reading me and keep blogging forward!
The following are my nominees to blog it forward:
Dear colleagues, please pick 3 questions you would like to answer in your post from that list:
- Who is your hero?
- If you could live anywhere where would it be?
- What is your proudest accomplishment?
- If you could those to do anything for a day, what would it be?
- What do you love about your Job?
Ivona,
Welcome to the community, and I loved reading about your Voyager syndrome (and seeing all the photos!). In the U.S. we call that having "itchy feet." I had those for a long time as well (lived on both coasts in the U.S., on Guam, on Palau, in Germany), but I'm now happily settled in Sonoma County, about an hour north of San Francisco, with my husband and flock of backyard chickens (and one cat).
I look forward to more of your posts. 🙂
Thank you Audrey! Hope my itchy feet get better soon as well 🙂 Have a good start into the week Audrey !
Hi Ivona,
welcome to the #BiF-Club with your very nice contribution to the blog series!
Could you please add the #BlogItForward tag to your post so that it doesn't get overlooked? Thanks!
Cheers
Bärbel
Hi Bärbel,
Thank you so much! I added the tag now 🙂
Cheers,
Ivona
Hi Ivona,
I am so jealous – both of your languages and your travels! I have not traveled nearly enough, but if I need an experienced guide, I can call on you, right?
Wait, free monthly back massages?
When they add in Goat Yoga, I’ll have to consider my employment options.
Cheers,
Sue
Hi Sue,
Thats so kind of you! Don`t worry - whenever you need some travel advice I am happy to help (and add some free language lessons on top ;-))
Cheers,
Ivona
May your Voyager syndrome never fully go away! I understand the environmental concern of air travel, but nothing opens the mind quite so much as spending time in other countries, and you have certainly done a fair bit of that! And five languages! Wow!
The only countries I've lived in have been New Zealand, Australia, and the United States -- all English-speaking! -- but I do try to visit my fair share. This past month I finally realized a childhood goal of having visited all seven continents. But, other than a smattering of very bad French, I can only claim fluency in a single language. I need to work on that.
Woow!! I have travelled a lot Matt, but still not managed to travel all 7 continents! Still missing out on South America, Australia and Antarctica. In case I make it to Australia I will call on your travel advice ok??
To be fair, it did take me 55 years to reach that goal. My next one is to take a dip in each of the five oceans. I have four of them so far; I'm still missing the Indian Ocean.