My Meraki Internship Experience
Allison Babilonia is currently a senior at Purdue University studying Network Engineering. This past summer, she interned at Cisco Meraki with our Network Support team. She shares with us her experience of being an intern, what she learned, and what advice she would give incoming interns.
I began my summer internship with Cisco Meraki in June 2019. It was a 10-week intensive program with the Network Support Engineering team, focused on gaining real-world experience through working on customer cases alongside professional network engineers. Now back at school for my senior year at Purdue University, the Meraki intern program left me feeling more competent, self-assured and overall excited about my future career in engineering. From the energized workplace culture to the thoughtful leadership mentoring, along with the day-to-day challenges and networking opportunities, my internship experience was incredible. Working with one of the best IT companies in the Bay Area truly prepared me for entering a competitive industry post-graduation with confidence.
Company Culture
Care deeply, be brave, simplify everything, and everybody in. These are the Meraki core values that are put into practice at the core of the company, as well as how all employees embody them in their day-to-day interactions with each other and with customers.
I was constantly reminded of these values during my time at Meraki and saw myself apply them throughout my internship. Inspired, above all, to “be brave”, I challenged myself to take on tasks working with new technologies that I had no prior knowledge of. As the program progressed I felt myself asking for more challenging roles, learning to stretch my abilities and feeling supported by leadership, all while remembering to be brave, care deeply, simplify everything and know that everyone is in, supporting me and the company along the way.
Technical Growth
The Meraki team has created a workplace environment that is both fun and challenging. As a network support intern, I performed root cause troubleshooting on customer cases from initial creation to resolution, just like the full-time network engineers do. The cases I worked on covered the entire Meraki product line, including security appliances, switches, wireless access points, smart cameras, and the Systems Manager device management tool. Additionally, interns were given other assignments such as reproducing customer network scenarios in the labs and providing detailed analyses and documentation for various support engineers. Performing these tests and recreations was a crucial part of identifying unexpected behaviors across the Meraki product line.
Interns were also encouraged to work on personal projects to further develop knowledge in various areas of interest. Being given such meaningful and challenging work allowed me to expand my technical knowledge in areas of computer networking that I had not yet had much experience with, such as VPNs and wireless networks. Being a part of this program gave me the opportunity to learn something new each day.
Mentorship and Team Collaboration
One of the most valuable aspects of the program were the mentors guiding us throughout the summer. Our mentors kept us accountable for personal and team goals answered our questions and offered constructive criticism on how we could improve ourselves and prepare for an engineering career. Our mentors were always willing to share their expertise and encouraged us to step out of our comfort zones.
In addition to our mentors, my fellow interns became a close-knit group that was focused on the team’s success, helping to troubleshoot problems and develop professional and personal friendships. Each of us had a diverse set of technical skills and experiences, which allowed us to learn so much from each other. As an intern, you are not expected to know everything, so my team was a very helpful resource whenever I needed assistance. My mentors and the intern group were both crucial parts of my success as an intern and made my time at Meraki so enjoyable.
Networking
During my time with Meraki, I was encouraged to interact with various network engineers and departments throughout the company. Developing these connections early on assured me that I had a helpful hand to reach out to no matter the topic or product and that I could ask for help with difficult cases without hesitation. The various networking events that interns were invited to attend also provided a great opportunity to expand my personal network and get to know other interns and full-time employees at Meraki. One of my favorite events was the Technical Support Q&A panel with members of the Meraki Support team, who provided us with such great advice.
My Final Takeaways
My Meraki internship gave me a better understanding of my skill set, showed me where I can take my career, and most importantly, reassured me that I am in the right industry. The real-world experience I have gained from this internship is something that no college can teach you in a lab or lecture hall. From my mentors who provided incredible advice and guidance, to my colleagues who were always available to answer any of my questions — I always felt welcomed, valued, and an integral part of the team. This position has allowed me to grow as a network engineer, provided me with a deeper understanding of cloud-managed networking and helped me build confidence in troubleshooting complex networks. I’ve also made several lifelong connections that would never have happened if it were not for Meraki. I have an exciting and challenging career path ahead of me and look forward to applying the knowledge I gained at Meraki in my professional career.
Advice for future interns
I would advise future Meraki interns to learn everything and anything they can, never be afraid to ask questions, expand their personal network, and most of all have fun. Meraki is a place for people to increase the scope of their knowledge in computer networking and problem-solving, build relationships with other professionals, and finish the program with confidence and excitement for their career. It’s an opportunity not to miss out on!
