Worked on enhancing the reliability and maintainability of the HPEEzmeral/aie-tutorials repository by addressing proxy environment variable handling in the MNIST digit recognition notebook. Focused on preventing runtime errors by replacing direct environment variable access with Python’s os.environ.get(), ensuring the code gracefully handles unset proxy variables. This approach improved reproducibility and reduced flaky runs, particularly in environments where proxy settings may be optional or absent. Leveraged skills in Python, data science, and environment variable management to deliver a targeted bug fix, supporting smoother onboarding for users and teams while isolating changes to minimize risk and simplify future code reviews.