Zoe Smith

Worked as a shot girl in a fast-paced, high-pressure environment, building confidence and strong interpersonal skills through proactive customer engagement. Developed the ability to remain approachable and professional in crowded and challenging situations, demonstrating resilience, adaptability, and effective communication.

Shot girl at Voodoo Elite, Revolutions (2023-04 – Present)

Worked as a shot girl in a fast-paced, high-pressure environment, building confidence and strong interpersonal skills through proactive customer engagement. Developed the ability to remain approachable and professional in crowded and challenging situations, demonstrating resilience, adaptability, and effective communication.

Bartender and Barback at Hap Solutions, UK Festivals & The Royal Oak (2022-06 – 2025-08)

Over multiple summers, I worked at multiple large-scale UK festivals, including Reading Festival, Boomtown Fair, Truck Festival, and Plymouth Summer Sessions, as well as in a busy family pub in high-pressure roles as bar staff. I operated effectively in fast-paced, high-volume environments, maintaining excellent customer service standards while prioritising the safety of customers and colleagues. Developed resilience and adaptability through working long and unsociable hours, consistently performing to a high standard under pressure.

Placement Student at National Marine Aquarium (2024-09 – 2025-06)

I completed a 9-month industrial placement at the National Marine Aquarium, gaining comprehensive, hands-on experience in aquarium operations, animal husbandry, and marine species management. During a three-month structured training programme across multiple departments, I developed species-specific knowledge and practical skills tailored to a wide range of marine habitats, including tropical, temperate, and large-scale exhibit systems. This included training in water quality management, life support systems, and routine animal health monitoring.

Following training, assumed significant daily operational responsibilities, including maintaining exhibit cleanliness to high welfare and presentation standards, preparing and delivering feeds across a diverse range of species, and assisting with coordinated feeding of large exhibit tanks. Regularly conducted in-water diving operations within three major exhibits, supporting habitat maintenance, animal observation, and guest engagement. Gained additional exposure to animal health and welfare practices by assisting with veterinary visits and post-mortem examinations, contributing to health assessments and developing an understanding of disease processes and husbandry impacts.

Participated in off-site collection trips to harvest live Artemia for use as enrichment feed, supporting natural feeding behaviours and dietary variation across aquarium species. In addition to core duties, independently designed and carried out a six-month behavioural research project investigating social hierarchy in smooth-hound sharks. Collected and analysed feeding order data to assess dominance patterns, demonstrating strong observational, analytical, and data recording skills, and contributing to a deeper understanding of species behaviour within a managed environment.

Developed key professional skills including teamwork within a multidisciplinary husbandry team, time management in a fast-paced operational setting, adherence to strict health and safety protocols (including dive safety), and effective communication in both technical and public-facing contexts

Summer Camp Group Leader/Camp Counsellor at Barracudas Activity Camp & Church Summer Camp (2018-05 – 2023-08)

I led groups of children in structured educational, religious, and recreational activities whilst maintaining safeguarding standards and creating safe, inclusive learning environments. I adapted communication styles to support children of different ages, abilities, and confidence levels and built strong relationships with children, parents, and colleagues through clear communication and leadership.

First Class Honours BSc in Ocean Science and Marine Conservation with a Certification of Industrial Experience – University of Plymouth (2026-07-24) A-Level Equivalent (Advanced Placement) in Psychology, English Language, Environmental Science, English Literature, Statistics – TASIS ENGLAND – LAFAYETTE HIGHSCHOOL