60 SECONDS WITH SAMANTHA NAKIRYA

Every Month on Exchange Extra, we take sixty seconds out to get to know our team. Follow us on our journey to connect all members of our network.

This month we introduce you to Samantha Nakirya!

Name: Samantha Nakirya

Job title: community and stakeholder manager

Location: Palestra

Hi Samantha! Please sum up your role in one sentence

My role is to support internal and external stakeholders in delivering meaningful, engaging, and impactful community initiatives across the rail.

Tell us about your journey to ARL…

I started my career working with homeless residents at a hostel in East London, supporting them into their education, training, and employment. It led me to work on an impactful campaign looking at affordable housing and empty properties across London. Working with people affected by the housing crisis and companies with the power to change it provided a unique opportunity to tackle social issues that affected us all. Working with a diverse range of community partners and businesses, I began my journey in community engagement, known as social value for several corporate businesses to deliver meaningful projects. 

What do you look forward to most working at ARL?

I’m looking forward to bringing my expertise and tapping into the generosity here at Arriva. Everyone has so many ideas and a passion for supporting local communities. Staff have delivered a generous amount of positive impact across the network, and I’m looking forward to finding ways to capture and amplify this. It’s great to be in place with people who champion giving back.

Tell us about your most memorable railway trip…

My most memorable rail trip was spending my summer holidays in Wales with relatives. I left London for the first time to see animals, quiet roads, and beautiful landscapes, and then I had endless fun during the school holidays with all my cousins. Rail journeys always seemed so grand, from getting to the stations to seeing all the different people and the number of journeys taking place. Going on long journeys takes me back in time and brings back all those memories.  

Where would you go if you could book a ticket to any destination?  

Japan, because it feels like they are living in the future.