Michael,
Content Creator & Translator
Michael is a translator and content creator who treats language like the best kind of puzzle – one where the pieces are words, and the prize is a sentence that just clicks. He loves that his days are a mix of translation and strategy-driven writing, because it means he gets to flex both his creative and his analytical muscles. His true rock-star moments happen when he’s working on something super creative, like a film script or an autobiography, and suddenly the words just pour out of him as if he’s the one on stage giving the performance of a lifetime. His fingers can barely keep up with his brain, and in those moments, he’s totally at one with the text.
Oddly enough, his Achilles’ heel is sometimes also his greatest strength. As an English native-speaker, Michael excels at writing natural content in a European context. But his colleagues sometimes tease him for using words that are ‘too native’ – as if he’s the odd one for having a big vocabulary. At work, he likes to think of himself as a pretty structured and orderly person, although his desk is usually home to a teetering mountain of papers that he swears he’ll sort out… eventually.
Michael studied at Ulster University on the north coast of Ireland, between the craggy rocks of the Giant’s Causeway and the fairytale charm of Dunluce Castle. He works with Spanish and the Scandinavian languages, and beyond his academic background in translation, he has also studied journalism and film.
Outside of work, Michael is a man of balance. Dog walks, exercise, good food and plenty of cinema trips and dinners out with friends. He claims he’s ‘trying to read more,’ but weekends are when that battle is usually won. To stay fueled, he drinks buckets of coffee and snacks on chocolate like it’s going out of fashion.
If Michael were a movie character, he’d most likely land in a comedy (unfortunately, he says). If he could teleport anywhere for lunch, he’d beeline to a Spanish chiringuito for the ultimate bocadillo de calamares – crunchy bread, tangy lemon and lashings of mayo. His hidden talent? Irish goodbyes – he’s incredibly skilled at slipping out of a party without anyone noticing, usually to grab a shame-filled McDonald’s before the ride home.
One of his favourite team memories is the chaotic parcel-swapping game at last year’s Christmas party, where he got very attached to his loot. If he could swap jobs with anyone for the day, he’d pick one of the project managers, just to get a peek behind the curtain and understand the moving parts behind the projects he works on. For him, Comunica is ‘warm,’ and if the team were stranded on a desert island, he’d be the peacekeeper – keeping tempers cool, finding compromises and making sure everyone gets along… while quietly hiding his milky white Irish complexion from the sun.
