Four months after Ireceived my master's degreein piano performancefrom the University of Notre Dame,after attending on a full, talent-based scholarship-my life changed forever. 

It wasThanksgiving, andon the final baste of the turkey dinnerIwascooking formyself andmy new husband-"it" -the moment that irreversibly changed my life-happened.The potholder slipped,and I instinctivelyreached out tograb the panand keep it from dropping.My fingers landed directly onthe piping hotmetal thathadbeen in our oven forover four hours. 

I ended up with second degree blistersandburns on two fingers of my right hand, which would later develop into eczema -a skin condition that would deteriorate my skin cells to such a degree that I still suffer from its effects to this day.  

Suddenly living in a world where I was in pain every day, depression set in. Myrelationshipfell apart, and basic things I had previously taken for granted -like my mobility, movement, and personal well-being -would never be the same.

Notably, this ended my careeras aprofessionalmusicianbefore it even had achance to really begin.

After a lifetime of working towards this goal, and being at the piano 5-6 hours every day during graduate school -I had lost my direction in life.What is a pianist without the use of her fingers? 

Injust a few brief seconds on Thanksgiving Day -my life, my health, my marriage and my career aspirationswere gone. 

Not knowing what to do next, and needing a job to pay my rent, I went to see a recruiter -and secured a position as an administrative assistant at a tech company. I spent the next 17 years in that field, five of which took place right here at Cisco. 

Six years ago, I decided it was time to try something new -and for the first time in my career, thanks to Cisco's dedication to career growth, I was able to make that transition in thesame company! I had never before seen a company that wasas motivated as Cisco is to help its employees change their career direction, to make moves to different teams and departments, and to encourage employees to try new fields.  Sound too good to be true? 

Well, you don'tknowCisco then!

At the end of 2013, I joined a small team in HR that has since become ourCustomer Experience Academy(CXA). My teamisan incredible group, and to give you some insight into the caliber of people on our team, the first manager I started working with wasliterallya rocket scientist. I was so far outside of my comfort zone for those first sixmonths anddoubted myself constantly -wondering if I should have ever changed career paths.Butmy managerdidn't give up on me -he wanted me to succeed and knew I just had to find my passion.   

And soon thereafter, I did. 

My manager gave me a new assignment to develop a framework for rolling out and delivering global, in-person training cohortsfor a new role at Cisco-the Solution Integration Architects. Something about this projectsparked pulses of excitementthrough my veins. A month later,whenI presented myinitial proposal on how to coordinate, manage, budget anddeliver the pilot cohort-I realized how much this task had changed me. I finally wantedto get out of bed every day and start working, because I wasreinvigorated, refueled, and passionateagain!  Just like I felt when I was on stage performing my music so many years ago.  

What I find most incredible about this scenario is that I never had a background in project management, finance,or globalevent planning -but I had life skills. What hadmade me such an incredible musician and accompanist is that I love working in teams, Ihad a need to create,aneed to learn,and aneed to develop-and I neededto do it(mostly)my way.   

Who would have guessed that 'my way'was completely aligned withthe 'Cisco way'?   

In the years that would follow, I have been directly responsible (with my team)for numerousclassroomtrainings that haveoffered learning and developmentopportunitiesfor our next generation of leaders at Cisco. I have personally engaged with more than 970 Cisco colleagues, at all stages in their personal development, in over 54 cohorts around the world!In fact, I have very likely spent more time in Cisco offices around the globe than in my home-based office of San Jose, CA!  

I have walked on the Great Wall of China, seen the Vatican in Rome,listened to the music of Chopin performed live in a salon in Krakow,gone salsa dancing in Miami, taken a carriage ride inBrugge, suffered through winter weather in New Jersey, gotten trapped by hurricane weather in Dallas, climbed a pyramid in Mexico, overlooked Clarke Quay in Singapore, rode to the top of the Eiffel Tower in France,walked in the haunting space of theAuschwitz-Birkenau Memorial - and that is just the beginning of impactful, life-changing experiences I have shared all because of Cisco.   

I have experienced so many cultures, heard so many languages,learned about the worldand have made friends around the globe.And I got to do all of this- and experience the thrill ofthis amazing career-in an environment that lifts up andempowers our colleagues around the world.   

Cisco took a chance on me, and I have grown in ways I could never have imagined.I have tried to pay it forward by sharing my best practices and my knowledge and experience with my team and others throughmentoring, coaching, collaborating and connecting all of Cisco cross-functionally. 

And guess what?  I still wake up each morningexcitedto go to work.   

If that's not a dream job, I don't know what is. 

Ready to join our amazing teams? We're hiring.Apply now.

Want to read more about Claranne's story? Check out her LinkedIn post today!