Spotlight – Our 2023 summer interns

July 19, 2023

We had the pleasure of welcoming 11 interns this summer at MMA East! We strive for our intern program to create opportunities and possibilities within the insurance industry and to give our interns as much experience and exposure possible.

We wanted to highlight a few of our interns’ experiences and takeaways. This summer was filled with fun events such as Top Golf, two Phillies games, and the Cradles to Crayons charity event. The interns met with CEO, Andrew Neary, and CFO/COO, John Whitehead, to eat lunch, chat, and gain useful knowledge from the best. We asked four of our interns about their summer and how they have been impacted so far.

 

Intern Q&A

 

MMA:  What have you enjoyed most about the internship thus far?

Harryson Nascimento (Client Service Representative): I have enjoyed the opportunity of getting to learn through practice and application. This internship has trained me with valuable industry insight via its abundant mentorship and training opportunities. It is easy to see the dedication placed into designing and operating this internship program.

Chris Schumann (Sales): What I have enjoyed the most about this internship thus far are the people.  Everyone I have talked to and interacted with has been very kind and receptive, from all of the interns to all of the managers.  I would consider all of the interns’ friends at this point, as I really enjoy talking to all of them, and have fun at every event we have together.

Rose Rybak (Underwriting): I think the stuff I enjoyed the most this internship was all of the out of the office events with the managers and other interns. It has allowed me to become closer to my colleagues. My favorites were the top golf event and the Firework Phillies Game!

Riley McGettigan (Marketing): I have enjoyed the opportunities to interact with my colleagues outside of work in fun environments such as Top Golf and the Phillies games.

Christina Orange (Voluntary Benefits): The thing I have enjoyed most about the internship are the people. Everyone I have met so far, including the other interns, have been super kind and interesting people to talk to. Additionally, MMA east truly cares about its internship program and making it a fun and educational experience.

Jack Forde (Finance): Its been so nice to have a fun group of people around at work. The other interns have been so easy to talk to and the events we have gone to outside of the office have been a blast! My coworkers have made the internship such an enjoyable experience.

Will Gramigna (Retirement): I have enjoyed getting to know the other interns as well as many others around the office. This has been especially fun at out-of-office events like Topgolf and the Phillies game.

 

MMA: What are key takeaways you have learned from the internship?

Chris Schumann (Sales): Everyone at MMA seems to really care about its employees.  Everyone has shown great concern over how the interns are liking the internship so far, which has made this experience really great.

Rose Rybak (Underwriting): That everyone, at least here at MMA will always be willing to help you with whatever you need. If they have capacity and you are busy, they always offer to help and all eager to answer my questions because as an intern I have quite a lot.

 

MMA: What surprised you most about the internship?

Riley McGettigan (Marketing): Everyone wants you to succeed and do the best you can, and it is extremely enjoyable to be in the office surrounded by supportive and genuine coworkers.

Chris Schumann (Sales): What has surprised me the most about this internship so far, is how much this company does for its employees.  They have many events, such as happy hour, top golf, and even the Phillies game that have all been such a great experience.  On top of that, they give us lunch all the time, and so many other things.

Rose Rybak (Underwriting): The flexibility with the company along with the culture. They make is very easy to work from home and give you freedom with that choice. The other employees are very sweet and easy to work with. They make the scary “corporate America” not scary and enjoyable to go into the office and work!

Jack Forde (Finance): Coming from a prior internship in a much smaller office, I’ve been surprised by how much freedom the office still has while being part of such a large company. I came in expecting red tape everywhere, but the environment has been so relaxed.

MMA: What’s one way you’ve grown during this internship?

Rose Rybak (Underwriting): I’ve learned to become more confident in my work. I tend to over think and need a second opinion on a lot of my work. I’ve learned to trust my gut and be more confident

Chris Schumann (Sales): One way that I have grown is my business professionalism.  Since I started here, I have grown more comfortable cold calling, and reaching out to potential clients.  As I learn from my mistakes, I have gained many skills needed to properly communicate with clients.

Will Gramigna (Retirement): Throughout the internship, I have become much more organized. This has allowed me to stay caught up with different tasks and complete them well before their deadline. This is a skill that will benefit me during my last year of school and throughout my professional career.

 

Thank you to all our 2023 summer interns for all your hard work! We are proud to share that several interns from past summers have gone on to accept full time positions with us at MMA. If you are interested in joining our team at MMA East, you can check out all available career opportunities on our website!