“When I grow up, I’m going to work at Cisco!”
That’s what my 5-year-old daughter said after visiting our Cisco campus in Raleigh, NC (RTP). Now, that’s a proud parent moment and proud Cisco employee moment all rolled into one!
Maybe it was the free cake or cozy chairs she sat in while at the office, but she wants to work at Cisco when she grows up. I love hearing that. She’s growing up in an amazing time, where girls can do and be anything.
I work on Talent Acquisition’s Change Management team. I asked her what she thinks I do at work and it went something like this…
ME: So, you want to work at Cisco? Great…what do you want to do here?
HER: The same thing you do.
ME: [pause while I collect my tears of joy] What do you think I do?
HER: See your nice friends and have meetings. And talk a lot, because, Mommy, you like to talk to everybody.
ME: [Giggling] I do like talking. What do you think we talk and meet about?
HER: How to make everything better.
ME: So you want to make things better, too?
HER: Yep.
ME: How are you going to do that?
HER: I’m going to help people drive safer and save the rhinos like in those big pictures. I can to do it right here, like you do, because Cisco has the best stuff to help, right?
ME: Yes sweetie, you’re right. Cisco’s got the best stuff to help.
Well, she got it mostly right. I feel like I do a little bit more than just meet with my nice friends and I don’t make everything better, but she doesn’t need all those details. In her 5 year old world, Mommy works at Cisco and makes things better. I think she understands that while we have fun talking here, we’re also doing big things. She wants to make the world better and she’ll do that working at Cisco.
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Great Job Lori, beautifully written 🙂
Thanks, Ektaa! It’s my first blog 🙂
I remember that day you brought her in and your daughter is definitely a “Mini-Me” of you. Very nice story and thank you for sharing this.
Thank YOU, Sarah, for being one of my nice coworkers that she’d like to be around!
Aw Lori, this is so great! I hope she does come to Cisco one day 🙂
I do too, Kali! And maybe she can be your intern!! 🙂 Thanks for your kind words.
I love your article and how you describe your world from your daughter’s perspective. One day my daughter asked me, if I like who I’m sitting next to. 😉
I am proud to be working with the Cisco DevNet team where STEAM is one of our new Communities of Interest. Check it out here: https://developer.cisco.com/site/steam/. Would love to get your ideas!
Thanks, Janel! I’ll definitely check it out. 🙂
Love it! Nice friends and making things better is a pretty cool job description… and you’re obviously (unsurprisingly) even more inspiring as a Mom than you are as a co-worker.
Thanks, Trish! I do have the best co-workers, here and all over the world! Thank you for your kind words.
It is a tribute to the passion you have for your job that she sees in you, and of course the environment created by Cisco that allows you to enjoy it so much. Love it.
Thanks, Jim! I do love “making things better” and I’m glad that she respects that. I appreciate your kind words.
I am gonna join cisco in few months this story really gave me a good motivation thanks fr sharing