Meet Your Colleagues - Ryan Flynn

Here at SERC we are keen to promote internal colleagues to allow staff the opportunity to get to know each other and put a face to the name, particularly due to the size and scope of SERC. With this in mind, “Meet your Colleagues” is a fun Q and A exercise to help raise awareness of people’s roles within SERC and allows you to get to know more about your fellow colleagues.

This week’s “Meet your Colleagues” features Ryan Flynn. Ryan is an intern within the communications and marketing department here at SERC.

What does your role at SERC involve? 

My main role at SERC as a marketing and communications intern involves assisting our team with the day to day operations of the department. I create press releases that get sent to local media as well our own in-house media such as the SERC website. I create multi-media content, whether that be photography, videography or audio. I am also involved with the community radio station and create content for it. 

Tell us a bit about your background?  

I am from Downpatrick, attended De La Salle High School before going to Belfast and Middlesbrough to get my degree in Journalism. I have volunteered at SERC’s community radio station FM105 in Downpatrick since 2012, so I’m familiar with the college. After graduating I was working for a local bookmaking firm for two years, then a couple of months ago I saw applications open for the SERC Intern Academy. The roles being offered in the Intern Academy included marketing and communications, being able to work at SERC within a sector strongly linked to my degree was a great opportunity so I applied and was thankfully successful. Now I begin a new job in the career path I began taking in education, and I’m looking forward to seeing how it goes.

What 3 words best describe you? 

Creative, focused, motivated

What do you like to do outside of work?  

I am a big American Football fan, so I enjoy attending games and meeting up with other NFL fans to watch games. I also run, coach and play for a flag American football team that I set up in Downpatrick, and travel all over Ireland to play games, playing in a league with teams from Coleraine to Cork, Westmeath to Dublin. Preparing for these games, as a coach, player and organiser, can be time consuming, but very fun and worth it.

If you could swap jobs for a day who would it be and why?  

Probably swap with someone high up at Google. Google is a company that interests me, they are a very creative organisation, one that is always developing news ideas, and bringing them to life. So being able to work there and listen to others develop new ideas, and listen in and follow their creative process, I think it would be very interesting and helpful.

List 3 items you would want with you if you were stranded on a deserted island?  

Some super strong gorilla glue to make the raft building a little easier, or doomed to failure one of the two, maybe both.

A life jacket in case my gorilla glue idea fails.

A phone, ipod or mp3, anything with some music.

What is your favourite film and why?  

I’m not the biggest movie fan, but I still find this difficult. I’d have to go with Blind Side, great uplifting movie based on a true story.

Where do you most want to travel, but have never been? 

California, really America in general, but specifically California. Generally, I’d have a blast just attending American football games, at any of the many NFL and NCAA teams playing out of the state, especially the San Francisco 49ers. Then being able to go from watching sports, to the site seeing and tourist activities, such as visiting Alcatraz, Golden Gate Bridge, Hollywood walk of fame, and much more. Going to California is definitely on the to do list.  

If you would like to partake in “Meet Your Colleagues” please contact Calum Donaldson (Marketing and Engagement Intern) at cdonaldson@serc.ac.uk for more details.