Welcome back to another post in our series “Meet The Demacians”, wherein we get the know the people and personalities who work behind-the-scenes at Demac to help our merchants plan, build, and grow online.
This week’s featured employee is a bit of a paradox; he’s the strong silent type, but really knows how to make a crowd laugh. He can usually be found with a good book in hand, a great movie recommendation at his fingertips, or some top quality music in his Spotify queue.
Keegan Galea is a total ‘gent and team-player who does whatever it takes to make sure his team is equipped to tackle the challenges of the current commerce landscape. Having been a Magento Developer for most of his career, Keegan recently switched over to working on the Workarea platform and is doing an amazing job moving projects forward!
He’s a dog-dad, a Demac veteran, and one of my close pals – meet Keegan Galea….
Name: Keegan Galea
Role: Workarea / Magento Backend Developer
Department: Development
Time served at Demac: 6 years
1. How did you find Demac or how did Demac find you?
I was in school with someone who was working at Demac. He passed my résumé along to Matt and D. Although I had next to no experience working in web, they took a chance on me and here I am 6 years later.
2.What’s your work-day beverage of choice? What’s your Friday afternoon beverage of choice?
Unlike most developers, caffeine makes me jittery and anxious and makes it harder for me to focus. I stick to drinking a ton of water during the day. Sparkling water if it’s my birthday. Friday afternoon I slide into a bathtub of absinthe.
3. How would you explain your job/role to a 5 year old?
I fight crime in a cool costume I made. Also I have all the best powers of a spider. Sometimes I build and maintain online stores for people.
4. How do you explain what you do to your parents?
My parents understand less about computers and the internet than the typical modern 5 year old so, “I build and maintain online stores for people”. They usually interpret that as “I fix computers”.
5. Demac is a flexible workplace….what hours of the day (or night!) do you prefer to work or get your best work done?
I like to get in before 9, but I find my best work is done after lunch. The afternoon is when I really get into my groove.
6. What did you study in school? Is it relevant to what you do now?
Originally I studied Television Broadcasting. I have not found this knowledge useful in web development yet. A few years later I went back to school for Computer Programming. You’d be surprised at how irrelevant this has been since I actually started working. Most of the skills I use I developed and learned working here at Demac.
7. What song are you loving at the moment to listen to while you work? (or which was the last song played on your Spotify?)
Love My Way – The Psychedelic Furs.
Normally I like working to the Retrowave playlist on Spotify. It makes you feel like Case from Neuromancer even when you’re doing the most mundane task.
8. What meme/gif/video makes you laugh the most?
This is the funniest thing to have ever happened anywhere:
9.What’s your favourite site to buy from? / Which eCommerce site do you think is amazing?
Amazon, but that’s too obvious. I’ve spent a stupid amount of money at Mondotees. I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t waiting on a shipment from them.
10. How do you balance work and life? / What do you like to do after you leave the office?
My fiancee and I got a puppy 4 months ago and since then she has taken up most of my time. I love taking her on walks around the neighbourhood or bringing her to the dog park. She’s a lovable hurricane who is always keeping me busy.
11. What are you interested in that most people haven’t heard of?
I have sort of an encyclopedic knowledge of the shows on the Earwolf Podcast Network. Their flagship show, Comedy Bang Bang, is the most chaotic and absurd improv show you could experience while maintaining an incredibly loose and constantly referenced canon of insane characters. Often, whenever I’ve been able to convince someone to listen to Comedy Bang Bang, they will listen to an episode and then never bring up the topic again.
I swear it’s hilarious though.
12. What do you love about working at Demac?
My co-workers. I never expected to make the kind of friendships I’ve made here when I started my career. Hard days at work are a lot better when you have your friends around you.
13. Do you live Demac’s values in your everyday life?
I try to use empathy as much as possible. It’s important to view an issue or request from the other side in order to really get the best solution for everyone.
14. What is your biggest pet peeve when it comes to shopping online/in-stores/etc.
I hate busy pages. When I go to a website I want a large image of the product, a short description if absolutely necessary, and a big BUY button. I appreciate a minimal design and a few subtle ads.
In brick and mortar stores, my biggest pet peeve is not being able to find what I am looking for. Why have aisles defined by category, only to put the thing I’m looking for in a bin or display on the other side of the store!? I know I could just ask someone, but I don’t go into stores to talk to strangers! Related pet peeve: when you finally give up searching on your own and decide to ask an employee only to find there is one person working and they are way too busy. Looking at you, Best Buy.
15. What have you done at Demac that you’re most proud of?
Is it a cop-out if I say training new people? I love being able to put time aside to help show someone brand new the ropes, and then watch them excel. Especially when they get to the point where they start showing me that everything I am doing is wrong.
The post Meet The Demacians – Keegan Galea – Workarea Developer appeared first on Demac Media.