Transcript
It's a great feeling when you know that you helped someone and making sure that traffic is flowing seamlessly in the harbor and everyone was able to get to where they needed to go safely. I grew up on the ocean. I come from a family of sailors and fishermen and pilots. I'm Zoe Polden and I am the acting port manager and water airport manager at the Port of Victoria.
We are a public port as well as one of six certified water airports in Canada and by far the busiest water airport in Canada with up to 100 flights a day. We are communicating with vessels and listening to the communication with pilots throughout the day. So we're aware of whatever's happening on the water and wherever we're needed and can provide assistance.
I went to University of Victoria and took a degree in geography and was really interested in urban planning. I had a co-op placement with Transport Canada and from then I was given a position working on environmental projects. In my previous job I was sitting in a cubicle for 8 hours a day reading reports and I felt like I needed a change and something that left me feeling more engaged.
And an operational environment is constantly changing. You never know what you're going to deal with when you walk in the door. It makes the day just fly by. My background in environmental studies and urban planning has really left me caring about making sure the department is responsibly managing this port and being considerate of the environment. I think to do this job you need to be a people person and to really care about providing a service to Canadians that might go unseen.
I love my job. It's very fulfilling.