Blue Yonder associate Naveen Kumar Chintamani, Senior Project Manager, volunteered at the Paris Olympics. He shares his experience in this DIVE In blog post.

The Olympics – the first thing that likely comes to your mind is a global sporting event where every country participates and celebrates. The opportunity to volunteer and be part of it rarely comes in one’s life, and this was my “once-in-a-lifetime” chance.

It all started in 2022, when Blue Yonder’s parent company Panasonic, a sponsor of the Olympics, offered associates a chance to sign up to volunteer. The journey began with signing up, attending online evaluation sessions, sharing our skills and strengths, what this volunteering means to us, going through a six-month review process, and then waiting for results. Volunteering also meant that you had to be in Paris for almost three weeks, the length of the games.

In November 2023, I heard the good news: “You are selected to the volunteer program,” which came directly from the Paris 2024 Organising Committee. I was one out of 45,000 volunteers (out of more than 300,000 applicants!) to get the confirmation.

As part of our preparations, we had to attend up to six virtual training sessions followed by an in-person training in Paris when we arrived in July. The in-person training was the most important and crucial for us so that we could understand our role and do our best on the event days.

I was assigned the role of a Chaperone at different locations like Pont Alexandre III, where we witnessed the opening ceremony, marathon swimming, triathlon, and time-trial road cycling; Trocadéro, where we witnessed race walk and road cycling; Grand Palais, where we witnessed fencing and taekwondo; and finally, Invalides where we witnessed archery. All these venues are beautiful and must visit places in Paris. As a volunteer, I was lucky enough to watch a few games after my shift without any tickets!

On my first day, I was assigned to work with an Olympic silver medalist, which I wasn’t expecting and was a great way to start my volunteer experience. Within two days, I realized we were doing something special and important.

Each day passed with increasing responsibilities where I was always around the gold, silver, or bronze winners. It was such an awesome experience to watch the game at the finish line, walking with the winners while they received their medals, and then walking back with them to meet their family and team members. I was able to meet athletes from different countries, greet them personally, meet people from across the world, and watch the game sitting next to the referee or media zone.

I’d like to thank the other Blue Yonder and Panasonic volunteers who were the energy and motivation throughout this journey. Each day I had to wake up at 5 a.m., get ready, report at the volunteer center by 7 a.m., with the shift ending anywhere between 2 and 4 p.m. depending on the game. I would then head back to the hotel for a quick refresh and to change before meeting up with Blue Yonder and Panasonic colleagues for dinner, shopping, or walking around Paris. I made so many amazing memories and enjoyed my time spent thanks to my colleagues.

A day before my last volunteering mission, we had surprise visitors at our station – France’s President Emmanuel Macron and President of Paris 2024 Tony Estanguet. They spent close to an hour with us, thanking us for our volunteering services; it was so nice to meet them in-person.

We also received a “Certificate of Participation” from the International Olympics Committee President, and a digital badge that we can tag to our professional profile.

This volunteering experience has taught me numerous valuable lessons. One key takeaway is the importance of perseverance – every athlete crossed the finish line, no matter how long it took. I was struck by the focus and determination of the winners, which served as a reminder that success comes from persistent practice and unwavering dedication. The message is clear: never give up and keep pushing forward until you achieve your goals.

A journey that started as a dream is now fulfilled. I am thankful to Blue Yonder and Panasonic for giving us this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

I’m now dreaming of volunteering at the next event, LA2028. Check out their website for future volunteer opportunities: la28.org.