Krash – September 2019

WITH AN

TRADING PLACES

AQUARIST

t, Sam Fawke.

KRASH: Have you always bee

interested in sea creatures?

SAM: Since I was very young

I’ve always loved being in and

around water. My passion for

aquatic life has grown from

there.

KRASH: Describe your journey

to becoming an Aquarist? What

training or study was involved?

SAM: I started working in apet

shop when I was in Year nine

doing after school shifts for

about nine hours a week. When

I finished my Victoria Certificate

of Education I studied a

Bachelor of Aquaculture and

Environmental management,

whilst also working at a local

aquarium as an Assistant

Manager.

KRASH: How did you scorethe

job at SEA LIFE?

SAM: I applied! I set my

Seek account to watch for

key words in positions that

I was interested in such as

“aquarium” and “aquarist”. A

position came up for an entry

level Animal Husbandry. I went

through the interview process

and was lucky enough to be

chosen.

KRASH: What can

visitors expect

from a trip

to SEA

LIFE?

: A journey into an

amazing underwater world.

For some people, seeing or

experiencing interactions with

some of the species we have

at SEA LIFE Melbourne is not

possible in their day-to-day

lives. To be able to bring so

many different underwater

creatures to them and educate

them about the ocean is very

exciting.

KRASH: Can you describe a

typical day at work?

SAM: My job entails so many

different tasks. From desk

work to diving and feeding to

plumbing, theming and animal

enrichment, you need to be a

jack of all trades! I love coming

to work because one day is

never the same as the next.

KRASH: What do you love the

most about your job?

SAM: The experiences and

animal interaction. There’s not

many jobs where you can come

home saying you spent the

day diving with sharks and

rays or feeding a 750 kilogram

crocodile.

KRASH: What is the most

challenging thing about your

job?

SAM: Time! There

never seems to

be enough time

to complete

everything.

Thingyouate...Eclipse

mints.

Book you read... ‘Three

Secret Cities’ by Matthew

Reilly.

Text message you sent...

“can you pick up the roster”.

Event you attended...

Movie night at work (it was

Moana).

Song you listened to... ‘The

Reason’ by Hoobastank.

Animal you saw...

“Jerome” our black ray

(Dasyatisthetidis).

Name: Sam Fawke.

Birthplace: Melbourne.

Birth date: 08/04/1992.

Occupation: Lead Aquarist

at SEA LIFE Melbourne

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