Today is International Men’s Day and we’re continuing our week of interviews with some of the male team members at SAM. Next up, we chatted to Darren Geoghegan who is a Lead Operative on night shift at SAM. Darren enjoys having family time with his fiancé and eleven-year-old son as well as hiking to the highest peak he can find!

 

1. Tell us about your role within SAM

As Lead Operative for the moulders, my first priority is to ensure the machines are up and running as quickly and as safely as possible. Quality and output are of the upmost importance to my role, and to make things run as smoothly as possible for my team.

 

2. What do you enjoy most about your job?

I enjoy new challenges and being kept on my toes. There are always issues to tackle in my day to day tasks. Being at SAM 16 years, I’ve made some great friends who I get to interact with on a daily basis.

 

3. What career development opportunities have you had within the manufacturing industry?

Before SAM, I was a welder/fabricator. This led me to work abroad in Italy, Miami and mostly in The Bahamas. It sounds glamorous, but I was stuck doing 12-hour shifts at some dry dock, although of course it had more upsides to it!

 

4. Name two things you are really good at?

I’m really good at adapting to changes. Whether this involves new processes in work or a system overhaul, I can find my feet and plough on. I’m also good at multitasking. There can be multiple things going on in my team at once. I enjoy getting on top of them as proficiently as I can.

 

5. What would you say is your biggest achievement?

Well this is easy. My son Tyler who is now eleven. He’s now at the age where things get slightly serious. At the minute, I’m trying to instil the importance of Maths and English. Without sounding overbearing, you still have to enjoy school. I used to love it.

6. What do you do to relax?

To relax, I like to go for a long drive, it clears my head and resets the demons as they say. I also like walking or hiking. There’s not an inch of the mountains around Belfast I don’t know. Finally, reading when I get the chance.

7. What do you do to stay healthy?

I would hit the gym three times a week, but lately I’ve been talking myself into missing at least a session through some spurious excuse. I used to be a Handy Bantamweight when I was younger and I’m still trying to hit that bar again – I live in hope! I take care of what I eat as well.

 

8. What values do you live by?

My values I like to adhere to are honesty, a good work ethic and integrity. Though I think you can always improve. At the minute, I’m working on patience.

 

9. Who is your greatest role model and why?

It’s hard to think of any role models other than my fiancé, Carrie. She already has a law degree yet has chosen to be a Social Worker. I watched her deal with two kids and battle her assignments and classes with a smile on her face. I was so proud of her on her graduation. This should get me some brownie points!

 

10. If you could give your younger self one piece of advice, what would it be?

Oh, this is simple. Never, ever get yourself in debt.