PowerPuffNerds

An Indomitable Will

Parul Sharma
July 1, 2021

My eighth-grade teacher pointed at me from across the room and exclaimed – “See that girl over there, she has got fire in her soul.” Incremental steps towards becoming a mindful network enthusiast are fuelling that fire these days.

Hello and Welcome, I am Parul Sharma! Five years ago, I began my career in the world of technology. Like any young, bright-eyed student, I believed that the natural progression of my education would be to get good grades in University and land a good job. Little did I know, these efforts would lead me to Cisco Systems, where I now work as a Systems Engineer.

Reflecting on these years, the journey has been amazing. Back in high school, as a young student of science, I would have never imagined such a profound career in technology for myself. But this space had always thrilled me. I completed my Bachelor of Technology in Electronics and Communication and what followed was years of intense ups and downs and a steep learning curve to date.

I was campus-hired in the Cisco Sales Associate Program. CSAP allowed me to engage with my peers across the globe, along with first hands-on educational and experiential training in the networking industry. This was my first foray into the professional world, and I did fail miserably on several occasions. I never stopped learning though, and always believed in moving forward by embracing all the constructive feedback. I love my CSAP family at Cisco and will always cherish those memories for a lifetime!

Having worked as Pre-sales SE in my next role at Cisco, I loved the never-ending string of cases from global customers and the possibility to learn something new every day. I am now helping businesses on the path to Software-Defined Infrastructure. My focus is to assist partners and customers in realizing and harnessing the power of Software-Defined Access and Software-Defined WAN.

Every day is a new challenge when you are working as a Systems Engineer and some days I don’t really have a plan, just caffeine and mayhem. But there is always newness, innovation, and creativity involved. What I have come to realize is, field facing roles are very dynamic, as they give a whole new perspective on how business is done in the techno commercial way.

With a zeal for lifelong learning, I’ve lately begun learning programming to meet my clients’ requirements with necessary innovation and to upskill myself. Being a network engineer with a non-coding background this isn’t an easy task for me at all, but my dedication and support from Cisco leadership is what keeps me going forward each day. I recently achieved my first milestone by completing Python specialization from Cornell University. My larger-than-life goals have given meaning to my life and persistent hard work to achieve them has taught me your success will be determined by your passion and fortitude.

From a young college student eager to learn to be called a “Woman in Tech”, today whenever I am able to solve my customers’ problems, I feel very impactful. Technology for me is creative, cross-disciplinary, and a lot of fun. The incredible culture at Cisco has taught me that between hope and possibility there is always a bridge. When I started my career, I was told time and time again by several friends and family members how fortunate I was to have started my career at a company like Cisco. Over time I came to realize how truly accurate they were – and now, I couldn’t be prouder to say ‘We are Cisco’!

While I am an engineer by profession, I am also a painter by passion. I love to provide colors to my thoughts and imagination. I am also a yoga lover. Exercising every day keeps my brain and heart happy. I also have an eccentric obsession with collecting unique shot glasses from all the different cities and countries I’ve been around the world. My collection now consists of 26 shot glasses, and I am very keen to expand this collection in the future. These days you can find me exploring the notes on Ukulele, as this interesting instrument has got my recent attention!

I have traveled a lot across the globe, met a lot of people, built incredible friendships, worked with great leaders, and got myself amazing mentors who opened a whole new world to me. All these experiences have unquestionably molded my personality and helped me evolve throughout the years. One such source that has a very profound and positive influence on me is the ‘Becoming’. This intimate and inspiring journal by Michelle Obama with some thought-provoking questions kindles me to discover my story every day and chase my dreams.

Having climbed the career ladder to date, I find it impossible for me to stop learning and I believe I have an opportunity to re-invent myself every day. A career in tech has helped me build faith in my capabilities and choices as an individual. I still have a long way to go, but pausing and looking back, I learned: