From Small Village to Global Career: My Journey at Cisco

Before Cisco was a logo on a campus poster, it was a dream I was not sure belonged to me. I grew up in a small village in Uttarakhand, India, in a lower-middle-class family. My father is a farmer, and my mother runs a small dairy business. I watched her work in the fields from 3:30 in the morning until 8 at night. Her determination shaped me long before I understood what a career could look like. I wanted to build a life that would give my parents more comfort and security. When I completed my master’s degree, Cisco was the first company to come to my college for on-campus hiring. Throughout my life, I had studied in government schools…