Benjamin Pollack's Dreams Come True at Disney

   

            About a year after being named the 2^nd Place National Finalist in the Siemens Competition, I received an email from the Siemens Foundation inviting me along with all of the other Siemens Scholars at the time to submit an essay with our views of the future. The letter explained that Siemens and Disney had entered a 12-year partnership and as part of the deal, Siemens would be sponsoring the attraction at Spaceship Earth in Epcot and would like to feature some of the Siemens Scholars. After submitting my essay, I hadn’t heard anything regarding the selection process until about a year later when I received another email indicating that I had been chosen among 22 others to be featured in the Spaceship Earth exhibit in Epcot. Of course, the first thing that comes to mind is “I have to see it”.

            As an intern for Siemens, I knew about another special opportunity at the attraction; Base21, a VIP center dedicated to Siemens employees and guests to serve as a meeting location or rest area from the hot Florida weather. Once I arrived at the park, I made a run for the Spaceship Earth exhibit (afterall it was why I traveled to Florida) to find a 45 minute wait to ride the attraction. After some searching, I found a door marked Siemens. Inside was the impressive Base21, the most technologically advanced Corporate Sponsored center in the park. Everything in this facility from the lighting, presentations in the board room, to temperature could be controlled via a single touchpad computer. They even had an interactive game designed by Siemens Corporate Research which superimposed various images onto the person standing in front of the monitor. I must admit, they were all great except for the one with me in a dress…

I soon met up with Darren Sparks, Director of Programs and Partner Marketing who oversees operations of the Siemens-Disney Alliance. After giving a great tour of the facility, my family and I decided to ride the attraction and view the end exhibit. The hospitality of the staff at Base21 and the configuration of the facility was a great example of the attention to detail and ingenuity Siemens represents. (P.S. Thank You to the Siemens Base21 staff who allowed me to clear the pictures off my digital card because I ran out of room…they even had the right cord)

After being given VIP access to the ride all the while bypassing a 45 minute wait, I was able to finally see what I flew thousands of miles for. The attraction is a slow moving tram inside the geodesic dome (big golf ball at the entrance of the park) which takes you through major milestones in technology throughout history. During the ride, passengers are able to customize their view of the future through a touch screen monitor in every car. At the end of the ride, guests are led into a large room with a giant screen shaped like a globe in the center of the room. The virtual future world that was created in the car and picture that the car took is displayed on the screen. Overhead are giant screens which feature a looping slideshow of all 23 Siemens Scholars and their views of the future.

Later that evening my family and I ventured to the International Pavilion at Epcot to get the best view of the daily fireworks show over the artificial lake in the middle of the park. The show is about a 30 minute spectacular array of fireworks and music. The show, “Illuminations” is sponsored by Osram Sylvania, a Siemens Company. At the end of the show, the Siemens logo is super imposed on the geodesic dome via green lasers. Needless to say it was a very impressive end to a fantastic day.

My trip to Disney added to another incredible experience I had while an intern with Siemens Medical Solutions USA, Inc. This past summer, I worked in a different department than I was in the two years prior. I assumed a position in the Employee Communications group in Corporate Communications. In this role I was given the task of coordinating a US Sector wide program that recognized employees for their contributions to the community. I was asked to design and execute the program. Aside from this work, I was given the opportunity to learn how to effectively communicate important information which is a great skill as I hope to incorporate marketing in my career.