"It’s time to hit the ol’ dusty trail; my summer internship at Fi has come to an end and its time for me to go back to school. I had a great experience at Fi over the summer and I’d like to thank everyone who made it so enjoyable for me here."
- Ben McChesney

These are the words from our very own Interactive Intern Ben who has made a home in our New York office for the last few months. Ben comes to us from RIT (Rochester Institute of Technology) where Fi has had the privilege of attending several times for workshops and Industry Days.

How did you first get in contact with Fi?

I had known about Fi since freshman year in college and as soon as I saw their work I had a great admiration for the simplicity and cleanliness of their style. In April my school hosted an event called “industry day” which is essentially a career fair for New Media companies, and Fi was there. I didn’t think I had a snowball’s chance for an internship with them so I avoided that line until my professor literally moved me into the Fi line.

How did Fi differ from other internships?

I had one previous internship as a developer at a financial institution, which is a much different atmosphere. I was one out of 20,000 employees on site, so it was easy to feel like a drop in the pond. At Fi it was a lot more welcoming and I was introduced to everyone immediately. At Fi you work in small teams, which makes you feel important because you get more involved and treated with more respect. My mentor, Ryan Hefner, was the go to person for questions about anything from code to what bars to go after work

What was the office atmosphere like?

Much more social and collaborative than the traditional business workplace I was used too. Monday morning breakfast is one of my favorite memories from Fi. It’s pretty unique that you get to chat with the CEO about what you did over the weekend while eating a chef prepared breakfast. Overall everyone here at FI-NY was warm and inviting, I went out to lunch with employees and also out on Friday nights and I was truly treated like another Fi employee. Plus just being in NYC was an experience all in itself trying to take in everything this great city has to offer.

What are some of the takeaways from your experience?

I would definitely say attention to details. FI strives to get pixel perfection in all design by literally overlaying the design over prototypes and making sure they match. Another important thing is to plan ahead. At school Information Architecture is almost secondary to design and is thrown in the same phase as concepting. At FI I’ve come to realize that good IA fuels good design. This also applies to code as well, learning to abstract classes and look at the bigger picture and creating reusable, expandable code makes changes down the line much easier.

Good Luck with your future endeavors Ben from all of us at Fi!

Interested in working or having your internship at Fi? See our openings here!