Garrett Girgasky was one of seven interns selected for HAI Group’s 2025 Summer Internship Program, where he supported the Account Services team and gained hands-on experience contributing to the department’s day-to-day work. After a positive summer experience, Garrett returned for a winter internship during the 2025–2026 season, further deepening his understanding of HAI Group’s mission, people, and impact across the housing industry.
Now pursuing a law degree at Suffolk University after completing his undergraduate studies at the University of Connecticut, Garrett reflects below on his time at HAI Group, the projects he worked on, the mentorship he received, and the lessons he’ll carry forward.
Girgasky: I was most excited to come to HAI Group because I've never heard of an insurance company that does what HAI Group does. I felt that the company seemed very niche. I was also excited to work for a company that was helping housing authorities provide their services to people.
I wanted to come back because everyone in my department and the company was so nice and friendly, and they provided me with so much help and mentoring. I really wanted to come back to continue working here because the people were just so great.
Girgasky: The thing I'm probably most proud of from the summer was my AMS optimization project. AMS is the system used by the Account Services team to track all HAI Group policies and members. I worked on a project that improved customer service and optimized the system, enabling us to provide the best possible customer service.
Girgasky: Something I learned from that is being detail-oriented and keeping track of things and cross-referencing. If I had a question about a certain housing authority or a certain member, I knew who to ask. I could go ask my managers or the department leads. It really helped me learn about being organized and keeping everything in order, ensuring that everything was consistent throughout all our systems, so that we had no lapses in who we were contacting or what we were discussing with them.
The 2025 HAI Group Summer Internship participants. From left: Heather Cibula (Online Training), Emily Meyer (Human Resources), Alex Puhl (Finance), Harrison Zhao (Data/Information Technology), Kaitlin DeForest (Internal Audit), Katie Yalda (Underwriting), and Garrett Girgasky (Account Services).
Girgasky: Working with different teams and departments was interesting. Account executives are assigned specific states and policyholders,so I had to learn a lot about the rules, laws, and regulations that are enforced in each state. Being interested in law, I was encouraged to meet with people from various departments—everyone I met was very welcoming and eager to share their experiences with me.
Additionally, as interns, we were encouraged to meet with members of the Executive Leadership Team (ELT). I met with Chief Executive Officer and President Ed Malaspina; Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice President Troy LePage; and Chief Legal Officer Tony Corleto, among others. They were all very kind and friendly, and had a lot of good things to share and great advice to offer. Working and meeting with different people across various departments was a valuable experience at HAI Group, and it was highly encouraged throughout the internship.
Girgasky: During the summer internship, the interns collaborated on a major project called the Intern Fundraiser, where we devised a fun office idea and a fundraiser to raise money for various causes. We all worked together to put that on and then execute it—it was one of my favorite accomplishments.
The summer internship was enjoyable because, while I was working on the fundraiser with the other interns, I heard about their experiences working in various departments and the projects they were involved in. In addition, I was able to share with them what I was working on, which really deepened the internship experience and allowed me to learn more about HAI Group as a company.
The 2025 HAI Group Summer Internship participants, pictured with CEO and President Ed Malaspina.
Girgasky: I would say the moment that I realized how important HAI Group was and really got a complete sense of what we did was when the interns took a trip to Enfield Housing Authority (EHA) with Nick Mayo, senior risk control consultant with the Risk Control and Consulting team. Mayo was conducting a risk site visit at EHA.
While there, we toured EHA's different facilities and met with the agency's leadership team. It was interesting because we met with people we as the interns communicated with during the program. We truly understand their experiences and how they approach providing their services to people, so that visit helped me put into perspective what HAI Group does and why the company does it.
Girgasky: Absolutely, because Account Services deals with so many different housing authorities, ranging in size, location, and the types of services they offer to their residents, such as whether they're more geared towards veterans or the older adults. Just being able to see a specific type of housing authority and observe how that service is provided really puts into perspective what Account Services entail and how the work is very meaningful.
Girgasky: Use your resources. Everyone I met with and spoke to here was extremely helpful, and they always wanted to engage in conversations with me and offer guidance. The amount of mentorship and everyone's kindness was invaluable to me. Whenever I had questions about certain things, whether career-wise or personal, everyone was always there and wanted to help and give me guidance.
I would also recommend meeting with and speaking to as many people as possible, whether they're in your department or not, and gaining a comprehensive understanding of the business and insurance as a whole. The amount of help that people at HAI Group provided me with my career, and the opportunities and options they showed me that I never even considered or thought of, was really helpful. That's a great thing that HAI Group does for its interns: It provides them an overarching experience, helps them succeed, and sets them up for future success.
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HAI Group® is a marketing name used to refer to insurers, a producer, and related service providers affiliated through a common mission, management, and governance. Property-casualty insurance and related services are written or provided by Housing Authority Property Insurance, A Mutual Company; Housing Enterprise Insurance Company, Inc.; Housing Specialty Insurance Company, Inc.; Housing Investment Group, Inc.; and Housing Insurance Services (DBA Housing Insurance Agency Services in NY and MI).