Internship Spotlight: Ryan Fox, Clay Lacy Aviation
Aug. 24, 2024
Image
Ryan Fox '26 BSBA (Management Informations Systems) was a MIS Intern/APEX developer at Clay Lacy Aviation in Van Nuys, California.
What was the process for getting this internship, job, or summer experience?
I met the CTO of Clay Lacy Aviation while interning with a database consulting firm. He was presenting a web application he had created using an Oracle Database tool called APEX, which was the tool I had been working with at the firm. We compared experiences, and after our conversation he gave me his business card. A few months later, we had a phone interview and he offered me the internship working under him as an APEX developer.
What was a typical day like?
The internship was remote, so I woke up everyday, went through my morning routine, and was clocked in and logged on by 8:45am at my desk in my bedroom. For most of the internship, I was working with a database language called PL/SQL, so on those days I spent most of my time writing programs that parse JSON data into relational tables to make the data more readable. On days when I was working directly with APEX, I would be designing web pages—which involved an understanding of business logic and user interface design.
What was your favorite part of the experience?
As crazy as it sounds, the programming was my favorite part. Before this internship, I knew nothing about PL/SQL, but as a person who loves puzzles and trivia, learning how to program in PL/SQL was like a puzzle that just got better and better. It was both mentally stimulating and extremely gratifying to sit down at my computer with a goal in mind, and use critical thinking (and Google) to achieve that goal. I'm extremely proud of myself as well for pushing myself outside my comfort zone like that.
If you worked on a big project, please describe it:
For this internship, I designed a reporting app that extracted data from a different application that Clay Lacy was already using and presented it in a more user-friendly way. My app was built for the Flight Operations Training division so employees could more easily keep track of crew member training schedules, expiring qualifications, and email notifications. My internship kick-started the project, and when it leaves the testing phase and goes into production, it will save Flight Operations at least a week and a half's worth of time in their day-to-day operations.
What did you find most challenging?
The part about app or web development that I find difficult is business logic, i.e. what actions, obstacles, and conditions must be considered in order for a business process like placing an online shopping order or scheduling a doctor's appointment to take place? When I was designing my app, I had to think about the process for scheduling a pilot or cabin attendant for training, and then build a page that would make that business logic flow intuitively to make it user-friendly. I've never had to think about a problem from that kind of angle before, and it was a lot to get used to.
What advice do you have for future students with a similar interest?
The tech industry needs young people. Big companies like Oracle, Microsoft, Google, etc. want the perspective of the new generation. Go to meetups, attend events and conventions, and network like your life depends on it. My experience was the result of being in the right place at the right time, but the odds get better the more you get out there and make your presence known.