"Changing the Way We Work, Live, Play and Learn" -ever heard or read this statement? For Cisco employees especially, it is very familiar. It is something we live by.

The first time I read these words was shortly after I googled "Cisco", before interviewing with the company and becoming a Project Specialist with the Advanced Delivery Network (ADN) Project Management team in the CX (Customer Experience) function. They were reiterated during my orientation at Cisco -and float through our offices and hallways on posters and handouts. We even hear them in meetings.

I'm sure many of us wonder how pragmatic the statement truly is though. I wondered the same -that is until the Cisco Fashion Event! This event was the epitome of the Cisco vision and itreallychanged the way I work, live, play and -undoubtedly -the way I learn.

Truthfully, when our team first heard about the fashion show, we were not sure how it was going to pan out. Once the day arrived, however, we did not want the event to end! We should've known since it was an ADN event -everything was planned wonderfully and went off without a hitch. We never want any of our events to end!

For the fashion show, professional fashion designers were brought in to educate us on how to create amazing new outfits from recycled material like worn T-shirts, sarees, and cardboard. We then divided into teams, suggested themes, and put our designing caps on!

While designing, we had immense support with insights from the fashion designer and the organizing team. We chose the theme 'Wings to fly' -which we felt summarizes the capability and assurance we offer our clients. Time flew by as we brainstormed, designed, redesigned, made the dress, and styled it on our designated model. Then, it was finally time for the haute couture show!

A marvelous display of imagination and creativity was showcased, and I had never seen anything like it. The event was filled with so much positivity and fun -it was hard to contain our excitement! The ADN VP, Ittoop Kurian shared our enthusiasm and could not stop praising the amazing work done by all.

It seemed nearly impossible to select a winner out of all the cool outfits displayed. Luckily, our director Lavanya specializes in achieving the impossible! In the end, we had a group ramp walk with models from all the teams, and a fun group snap to preserve and cherish the happy memories from our experience.

But how did this even change me and the way I work, live, play, and learn? Simple.

It changed how Iworkbecause now I have a more creative approach to managing our projects. I always wonder how I can foster team synergy in our work, and get us to our goals more efficiently.

It changed the way Iliveas it made me more perceptive to the damage we are doing to our environment and how recycling, reusing, and reducing our daily life materials will go a very long way in preserving the eco system.

This wonderful and successful team-bonding event changed the way Iplayas I got to interact with so many colleagues! I now have enough people to play table tennis with every day!

And, it surely changed the way I learn. I learnt to look for different approaches towards solving a problem, to strive for continuous improvements, to have fun and enjoy my work, and most importantly, to appreciate the amazing organization that Cisco is for its employees and customers.

Do you#LoveWhereYouWork? I do! And I believe that you will too, when you work at Cisco!

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