Jupiter, Fla. (November 17, 2016) – Els for Autism presented the 2016 Autism Spectrum Award to Gloria Mendoza, SAP Autism at Work team member, on November 5, 2016.  Gloria was honored at the Las Vegas Grand Finale which concluded the 2016 Golf Challenge Series, the sixth annual largest international charity-driven amateur golf tournament.  The Spectrum Award honors an individual with autism spectrum disorder who has shined a positive light on autism through her character, positive attitude and contribution.

Gloria Mendoza is an amazing exemplification of these qualities. As a toddler, Gloria struggled with communication skills, but excelled in music. She demonstrated a keen interest in all types of music, so her mother enrolled her in piano and voice lessons at the age of seven years old. To the surprise of Gloria’s piano teacher, he discovered that she could easily sight read music with no previous training. He also discovered that she had perfect pitch. Gloria pursued her passion of music in college and earned a dual degree in Computer Science and Music from Gettysburg College in Pennsylvania. After graduation, Gloria joined SAP as an intern though the SAP Autism at Work program. After five weeks of Social and Enterprise Readiness training, Gloria joined SAP’s Mission Control Center Team.

Rob Enslin, President of Global Customer Operations describes Gloria’s responsibilities at SAP – “if you can imagine NASA [at] Cape Canaveral, we have a center in Newtown Square we call the Mission Control Center. It’s here that we monitor all our customer’s systems and when our customers need assistance, our engineers get engaged directly with them. This person is part of that team. Simply amazing. She has done an incredible job uplifting SAP, uplifting her colleagues, and being an amazing credit to society.”

Following her acceptance of the Spectrum Award at the 2016 Golf Challenge Finale Awards Ceremony, Gloria Mendoza performed Mozart’s Voi Che Sapete, commanding a standing ovation from all attendees. SAP’s Autism at Work Program plans to have 1% of the SAP workforce represented by people on the autism spectrum. The initiative currently includes over 100 colleagues in Australia, Brazil, Canada, the Czech Republic, Germany, India, Ireland, and the United States.

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