Webexwas thereason I decided tojoin Cisco.  

The idea of transforming the workplaceand re-imagining whatit means to collaborate with others is what initially excited me about the product. AsI watched a demo ofWebexduring a recruiting event at Cisco'sheadquarters, I gazed up at the bigWebexboards-fitted withall this new technology -and was in awe of how forward-thinking it was. I felt like I had just gotten a glimpse of the future -and Cisco was leading that vision. 

When I joined Cisco as a new grad in 2019, life was very, very different. My mornings consisted of driving 20 minutes to our headquarters in San Jose, California, grabbing cereal from the office kitchen, and preparing to meet with my team in the conference room for our daily standup meeting. I had just completed my master'sdegree at nearby Stanford University, and I was excited to be working on the latest features for CiscoWebex. 

Little did I know, however, that within a few months, the future of MY workplace wouldchange.Working from home was not how I expected to spend the majority of my first year out of college.I had spentmonths getting used to office life only to have to abandon itshortly after.It was a bit stressful at first, butCisco played a big role in helping ease that transition, too.  

The executive leadership team began doing weekly(nowbi-weekly)company-wideCheck-Insto speak directly to employees andanswer questions we had. They even gave us a few days off-now known as "A Day for Me" -to focus on ourselves!It may not have been how I planned to spend my first year at Cisco, butit gave me a whole new perspective of how a company is run, and provided a sense of comfort that Cisco's leadership supported usduring these trying times.

For my team, the transition to working from home was relatively seamless; we had already been usingWebexdaily to collaborate with teams across the globe, and as developers, we knew the product inside and out. The challenge came, however, when millions of our customers started working from home as well.  

As Webextraffic spiked, my team had to reevaluate our priorities and renew our focus. New customers brought with them new challenges and new requirements, and it felt like every day there wasa different mountain to climb. 

As challenging as it was, it was also incredibly rewarding. To see theproductI had been working so hard on used by millions of people around the world wasamazing. How manynew grads could say they had this experience? 

When ourCEO Chuck Robbins shareda video of howWebexwas being used to connect hospital patients with theirfamilies during a Check-In,I could not have been prouder. 

"Wow," I thought to myself, "I played a role in this!" 

True,the video did not highlight the exact features I had worked on, butI am, of course,part of a team andone ofthe many talentedengineers working on theWebexplatform. Itleft me incredibly proud of being a small part of that and the success we've shared. 

When my1st Ciscoversary rolled around, I took some time to reflect. On my computer, I keep an updated list ofaccomplished tasksevery day. I do this in part because it makes my weekly status emails to my manager easier to write, butalso,I find that amidst all thechaosof 2020, it's easy to forget whatwehave achieved.  

As I looked through my list of accomplishments -I couldn't help but feel grateful that I started my career here. 

Most new grads never get to work on something so impactful straight out of college, and there's no doubt in my mind that my experience could have only happened at Cisco. 

Ready tomake an impact?Apply now. 

Subscribe to the We Are Cisco Blog