HIROC Summer Student Spotlight
This summer we continued our annual tradition of welcoming post-secondary students to HIROC, with our largest group joining us yet.
We at HIROC value having a diverse group of students join the team each summer.
“Our summer students offer a great deal of insight, fresh perspectives, and bring with them a great deal of energy,” added HIROC CEO Catherine Gaulton. “We appreciate all they do in supporting the team, but more importantly, we’re delighted to play a role in their ongoing learning.”
We were thrilled to connect with eight summer students, who left an impact with their curiosity and eagerness to learn.
Meet our 2025 summer students!
Lawson Diminutto - Performance Excellence & Information Services Summer Student
Sasha Carter – Claims Summer Student
Karishma Kassam - Legal and Healthcare Safety & Risk Management Summer Student
Danh Vo – Finance & Operations Summer Student
Gracia Wang – Finance & Operations Summer Student
Galia Spence - Insurance Services Summer Student
Ava Policicchio - Insurance Services Summer Student
Jacob Saldanha – Finance Summer Student
We love hearing about our summer students’ perspectives and experiences at HIROC, so we reached out to a few of them to learn more.
How has your role helped you develop new skills, professionally and/or personally?
Sasha: This is my first experience in an office setting, and I believe that being placed in an environment such as HIROC that encourages continuous learning, has allowed me to experience what it feels like to work in an office setting that promotes a work/life balance and the continuous acquisition of new skills.
Gracia: My role at HIROC helped me develop important soft skills that I know will stay with me long-term. I learned how to work effectively in a team environment, manage tasks under pressure, and think about the bigger picture of how each department contributes to HIROC’s overall business model. Beyond that, the experience gave me exposure to two very critical and fascinating industries, healthcare and insurance, which deepened my understanding of how risk management directly impacts organizations and communities.
Danh: My experience at HIROC gave me the chance to step outside of my comfort zone, take on new responsibilities, and learn directly from experienced CPAs like Amos, Bukky, Raj, Samarth, Gigi and others.
Galia: This role helped me develop core office skills that I know would be valuable in a variety of future roles. I learned how to communicate professionally, whether via email or in person, and how to collaborate effectively as part of a team. It also taught me the value of working with others to achieve a common objective, as well as the importance of asking questions and remaining open to learning.
Ava: My role as an Insurance Services Summer Student has helped me to apply my academic learning in a professional environment while also enhancing my communication and technological skills both professionally and personally.
What aspect of HIROC’s culture stood out to you the most?
Sasha: What stood out the most, from my first day here is how genuinely friendly everyone is. I was introduced to many new colleagues who were all happy to help, should I have any questions about anything. From my experience, HIROC thrives from the collaboration of colleagues and is strengthened most from the tireless work all departments execute to ensure the protection of subscribers first and foremost.
Gracia: What stood out to me the most was the incredibly supportive nature of all staff. Everyone was generous with their time and eager to share their knowledge, which created an environment where asking questions and learning felt natural. I also appreciated the strong sense of collaboration across teams.
Danh: I feel that everyone at HIROC is welcoming, supportive, and approachable, even HIROC CEO Catherine was super friendly and open, which created a warm and calm workplace culture.
Galia: Everyone at HIROC was incredibly friendly and welcoming. Coming in, I was worried about working in an office setting, but that immediately changed. People went out of their way to say hi, ask how I was doing, and offer assistance, even if we had never met before. I felt comfortable approaching anyone with questions, which made it much simpler for me to advance and thrive in my work.
Ava: HIROC is a very supportive organization with a strong emphasis placed on continuous learning and development through HIROC Us, 5-minute learning and mindfulness sessions.
Do you have any words of wisdom for future HIROC summer students?
Sasha: Ask questions, you’ll learn a great deal from those around you. Everyone is here to help and support you and understands that you are just starting out and likely dealing with new software and acronyms.
Gracia: Have fun and strive to learn as much as you can from your colleagues. Stay curious!
Danh: I learned that being responsive, proactive, and eager to learn, are the quality skills that helped me a lot.
Galia: Be open, ask questions, and don't be afraid to make errors; everyone here wants to help you learn. This position provides an excellent opportunity to get real-world experience and develop professional habits that will benefit you in any industry. Take advantage of this by remaining curious, engaged, and learning from everything around you.
Ava: Don’t be afraid to ask questions and use a HIROC notebook to jot as many notes down as possible.
We wish our summer students all the best in their future endeavors!