This post was authored by Ethan Okelberry, a technical sales engineer intern on the SLED Team.
Most intern stories start with walking into an office on day one. Mine started at my desk in Roseville, California, logging into Webex.
I had the option to intern in person, but there is no Cisco office near me, so I went fully remote as a technical sales engineer intern. And I will be honest; I had my doubts.
When I pictured a remote internship, I imagined eating lunch alone, awkward video calls, and watching other interns post pictures while I sat at home. I figured I’d learn a lot, but I assumed the connection everyone says matters most just wouldn’t be there for me.
I could not have been more wrong.
From day one, people showed up for me in ways I did not expect. Despite full calendars and important deadlines, coaches from across the company hopped on calls with me and other interns, sharing their journeys, answering questions, and genuinely investing in us. Nobody makes them do this. It’s just who they are and what this company is. One piece of advice that really stuck with me is that everyone succeeds in their own way. It meant I didn’t have to fit a mold — I just had to show up as myself.
Then there is my manager. Leading a team spread out across the country is not easy, but she has been intentional about it from day one. In our weekly 1:1s, she creates a warm space where I feel completely comfortable. Even when I’m navigating a tough topic, I know I’ll be met with support, not judgment. Because she prioritizes that human connection, our team never feels like a group of names on a screen. It truly feels like a team.
That sense of belonging is matched only by the freedom and flexibility I was surprised to find in my daily routine. Being remote means I build my own schedule. I decide when I do my deep work, when I take my calls, and when I step away to reset. Instead of feeling like I was missing structure, I find that owning my own time makes me sharper and more accountable. Cisco trusts me to manage myself, and that trust makes me want to earn it.
But the moment everything really clicked was when Cisco flew our entire intern cohort out to Research Triangle Park in North Carolina for a week on site.
The highlight was delivering a teach-back presentation on ThousandEyes with my partner. Up until that week, I had only ever known them through a screen. We prepped together virtually, built the whole thing over calls, and then stood up in a room at our RTP campus and delivered it side by side like we had been working next to each other all summer. In a way, we had been.
And it was not just the work. We went bowling as a group. We played golf. On the last night, we all went out together and just enjoyed being in the same place at the same time. What hit me during that week was that none of it felt like meeting strangers. It felt like a reunion. These were people I already knew, already trusted, and already considered friends. The week in Raleigh did not build those connections. It confirmed they were real the whole time.
That is the part I keep coming back to. Culture is not a location. If I had to describe Cisco in one sentence, it’s a warm, welcoming environment where everyone wants to succeed — not just for themselves, but for each other. I used to think connection required an office, a hallway, a lunch table. But connection is really about people choosing to show up for each other, and at Cisco, people choose to show up whether that is in a conference room in RTP or on a Webex call with an intern they have never met in person.
Cisco did not just make a remote internship work. They made it feel like I was never far away at all.
So, if you are a student wondering whether a remote internship means missing out, take it from someone living it: it does not have to. Not if you land somewhere like Cisco that treats connection as a priority instead of an afterthought.
I came into this summer worried about being distant, but I am leaving with a team, mentors, and friendships — and with clarity on my path forward. I know what a day in the life of a solutions engineer looks like and am looking forward to starting my own career on that same path at Cisco.
Remote was never the whole story. The people were.
Ready to find your place at a company that puts connection first? Find opportunities on Cisco’s career site!