This put up was authored by Adil Syed, a CX Product Administration Specialist Intern on the Enterprise Networking Structure Workforce.
Being at Cisco for me is extra than simply an internship or work expertise. It’s a full circle second. 
Once I was ten years previous my brother gave me a hand-me-down Cisco Linksys AE1000, a wi-fi adapter that served as the one means of getting web on my pc. That was my very first introduction to Cisco and to the world of know-how. From that day ahead I spent virtually each day on my pc with the Cisco emblem on that USB stick accompanying me. Whether or not I frolicked finding out or shopping the net, I’d all the time see that Cisco emblem and blue Wi-Fi image lighting up within the nook of my eye.
Because the son of immigrants and a first-generation school scholar, I didn’t have a lot rising up, however each afternoon, stepping off the college bus, there was one factor I all the time regarded ahead to: getting on my pc.
That product grew to become my lifeline and with it I might discover, be taught, and create. The one draw back was any time my dad and mom wanted me away from a display screen, all they wanted to do was unplug and conceal the USB. In hindsight, Cisco most likely earned some further factors with my dad and mom for making a product that might shut me down in seconds.
I grew up with my dad and mom instilling in me the worth of each alternative. When I discovered the opening for the CX Product Administration Specialist Intern on Cisco’s profession website, I jumped on it. I used to be excited that it completely aligned with my background in information science and enterprise. Product administration was a dream function and one thing I knew I had the strengths for.
Dedication to Progress
After the enjoyment of getting my supply, it started to really daybreak on me: I used to be about to start out working at Cisco. I used to be nervous, I imply, it is a international chief in networking and know-how. After just some weeks into my internship although, I spotted I made the proper selection pursuing this chance.
Cisco hosts “Mentor Mondays” for interns, giving us direct perception from senior leaders on their careers, sharing precious recommendation we are able to carry far past our time right here. One quote that actually stayed with me got here from Liz Centoni, Government Vice President and Cisco’s Chief Buyer Expertise Officer. When she was requested, “What made you stick with Cisco for therefore lengthy?” her reply was easy: the tradition.
I felt that deeply. Regardless of my preliminary nervousness, these nerves light after just some conversations on my first day with my supervisor, Sravani, and leaders inside my Buyer Expertise Product Administration (CXPM) workforce. Everybody right here is responsive, approachable, and genuinely invested in growing early-in-career expertise.
It’s the form of surroundings that makes you look ahead to coming in every day, and it’s helped me get away of my very own shell. I by no means hesitate to supply options, share concepts, or ask questions, figuring out I’m surrounded by individuals who need me to succeed.
Some of the rewarding and distinctive elements of my internship has been working with my workforce. My supervisor took time to be taught what I
needed to work on and aligned my strengths in automation and product technique to assist me succeed and problem me to develop in new areas. In consequence, this summer season has been a cascade of studying and development, each in understanding the work my workforce does technically with merchandise, and particularly by my undertaking. I used to be given a transparent construction and taught the interior workings of how we, as a workforce, function. After familiarizing myself with my workforce and our merchandise, I constructed an Agentic AI automation software centered round Cisco product IDs. I’m grateful for the chance to create one thing that can be utilized long-term and have a excessive influence.
Coming Full Circle
As I’m going into my last semester at UNC Chapel Hill this fall, I can not assist however mirror on how far I’ve come for the reason that days of that hand-me-down adapter. It’s surreal to suppose that the identical Cisco emblem I stared at each day is now on the badge I put on. Cisco has given me extra than simply expertise, it’s given me a group, mentorship, and the arrogance to push myself past what I believed I might do. I by no means imagined that I’d get to be on the similar place, working in a bunch that sparked the eagerness I developed for know-how so a few years in the past. I’ve Cisco to thank for that.
I’m grateful for each expertise I’ve had right here, and if I’ve realized something, it’s that destiny all the time has a humorous method of taking you the place you are supposed to be. These final ten weeks have been probably the most unimaginable interval of studying and development, and I wouldn’t change it for a factor. My journey with Cisco actually got here full circle, I’m excited for the longer term, and to see how others would possibly discover their very own full-circle moments right here.
Learn experiences from different Cisco Interns to be taught extra about early-in-career life at Cisco.
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