Featured image by Alice Chen

Last fall, at a retreat in the hills of Santa Fe, New Mexico, I met Dr. Tererai Trent. We were two midlife women, talking between sessions about what lived in our hearts. She shared her story: growing up in rural Zimbabwe, married with four children by 18, escaping abuse, coming to the U.S., and ultimately earning her PhD. What stayed with me wasn't just her beating the odds; it was her unwavering mission to give back - keeping girls in school and building sustainable futures in the community where she grew up.

That lit a spark in me. When I returned home, I began virtually volunteering with her nonprofit, Tererai Trent International (TTI). They were raising an endowment and needed help with storytelling - a skill I use every day in my executive communications role at Cisco.

We decided to produce a video for their website and donors. We were discussing filming remotely when she mentioned an upcoming trip to Zimbabwe. I half-joked, "It'd be so much easier if I just came." Fifteen minutes later, I was checking flights and realizing it might actually be feasible.

That night, with butterflies in my heart, I pinged my manager on Webex to ask if this could be possible - and expressed my concern about leaving the team short-handed, especially after only a few months as a full-time employee.

Her immediate yes - combined with Cisco's Time2Give paid volunteer time (80 hours a year in addition to our vacation time off, ironically, the exact number of days I'd be away) - was surreal, exhilarating, and filled me with gratitude.

It wasn't just about time off. It was the trust and the belief that who I am outside of work matters just as much as what I contribute inside Cisco, and that rare kind of support blew me away.

Three short weeks later, I was packing my bag and heading to Africa.

Photos by Alice Chen

At each school we visited, the challenges were plain to see: classrooms without reliable water, electricity, or food; buildings in urgent need of repair. We filmed scholarship recipients, parents, and teachers whose stories showed the impact TTI is making on the ground.

I met Sarah, who graduated with help from TTI and now works in communications in the capital city of Harare. She sends money home to support her parents and younger siblings, and when we visited her family, they spoke with such pride about how her achievement is transforming their quality of life, showing how opportunities ripple outward, touching many lives.

Another woman used her scholarship to become a teacher focused on children with disabilities in a culture where those mothers, like herself, are often stigmatized. She is working to challenge that stigma, providing schools with resources to include children of all abilities in classes rather than keeping them at home, mirroring the kind of inclusion we experience at Cisco and work to provide the world.

What Florence shared has stayed with me the longest. After being humiliated in front of her entire class, she left school for a year. A scholarship helped her return, graduate from university, and today she helps other girls avoid the same fate by sewing and distributing reusable period pads - transforming her hardest moment into dignity and opportunity for others.

Photos by Alice Chen

Everywhere I went, I saw determination: eager students, committed teachers, and a community intent on rising. Clean water feeds school gardens that nourish children and generate income, and sewing collectives give women dignified work and real choice in their futures. Hearing these women tell their stories in person, I was deeply moved - humbled not only by their resilience, but by the reminder of how much we can accomplish when someone supports and believes in us.

I saw firsthand that Tererai and her team aren't just running a nonprofit; they're building an ecosystem. Leadership looked less like a title and more like getting proximate, paying attention to what truly matters, and seeing how everything connects.

Here, at Cisco, I help leaders communicate with clarity, authenticity, and heart. My time in Zimbabwe strengthened all those muscles - giving me real-world examples of how systems thinking, good questions, and deep listening, combined with patience and empathy, improve outcomes. That video Tererai and I first dreamed about is now coming to life - at no cost to her organization - using the skills and contacts I've found in my role. That alignment between impact and craft is one reason I #LoveWhereIWork. Cisco doesn't just talk about Purpose; it makes room for us to live it.

My advice is simple: raise your hand, expect the unexpected, and say yes to the moments that stretch you. At Cisco, we're encouraged to follow opportunities that sometimes feel bigger than our job descriptions. When we do, we not only grow - we find ourselves part of something that's making a difference in the world.

In Shona, Zimbabwe's native language, there's a word: Tinogona - it is achievable. Cisco's Purpose is simple: to Power an Inclusive Future for All. Together, we can make it possible.

Ready to make a global impact, a real difference in the world, and dedicate time to causes you care about, supported by programs like Time2Give? Join us!

Subscribe to the WeAreCisco Blog.