Ever had a job that was leagues above any other? Finding his way to aquatic biology has University of Minnesota Crookston alumnus, Michael Laurich 2016, “hooked”, and it all started with a volunteer position. Laurich is now an aquarist of historical galleries at Shedd Aquarium in Chicago, Illinois, and focuses on animal husbandry and exhibit maintenance.
A day at work for Laurich includes food prep for the animals under his care, examinations of the habitats to make sure animals and plants are thriving, and taking a look from the outside in to make sure guest experiences are top notch and the animals are visible with nothing blocking the guest’s view. One of the animals under Laurich’s care is the fly river turtle which spends 90% of its time submerged in water. Laurich says they’re “adorable” with pig-like noses and they love to hoard blackberries. Another is “Nickel”, a green sea turtle that loves attention and back scratches any time Laurich takes a dive in her tank.
“My favorite animal to watch after is “Mochi”, a stingray who was born at Shedd and is now six or seven months old,” Laurich described. “Mochi was really small for her size, but since moving to the stingray touch pool she is growing and gaining weight. She will come up to me and I’ll give her a handful of food. Stingrays are both comical and kind, and most are relatively friendly with people. Guests love to interact with them and feed them.”
Besides enjoying and caring for the aquarium’s marine animals, exhibit maintenance is also a large part of Laurich’s job. Redesigns to imitate natural habitats is what Shedd strives for and Laurich loves being part of the process. Not only can an exhibit enrich the engagement of its guests, but a redesign of an exhibit can also decrease stress and lower aggression in animals, provide better, safer environments, and create ease for feeding. Diving into the exhibits for maintenance and redesign is a common thing for Laurich, but he has also performed dives as part of special guest requests.
“About a month ago I did a dive for a party’s gender reveal,” he explained. “I had on a full wetsuit and facemask, and was sent in with a sign that I flipped on cue and revealed the guest was having a girl. Everyone loved it and were cheering, and jumping up and down! It was a great experience and I was glad to be a part of it. I also had Nickel at my side and she tried to block me so she could get attention.”
Wonder if Laurich has always wanted to go into marine or aquatic biology? As a kid, he says it all started with dinosaurs like most people he knows. When he got older he leaned toward pharmaceuticals as that field could provide a stable, practical, well-paying job. While in high school in Illinois, his original plan to fund his education was to join the military, which he did when he was 17 by signing up for the Army Reserves.
Right before he went to basic training, he had an accident and broke his arm which meant the military was no longer interested. This presented him with an issue as to what avenue he would take to continue his education. His high school only offered three free transcripts at that time so he decided he would search for a recognizable school with a recognizable degree. He applied to the University of Minnesota in the Twin Cities, Rochester, and Crookston. Laurich was put on the waitlist for the Twin Cities, and was accepted to both Rochester and Crookston as part of their biology programs.
“The deciding factor that led me to UMC was the emphasis on the Big 10 degree at a smaller campus as well as the in-state and out-of-state tuition being the same,” Laurich shared. “For me that was a big deal as I would take out student loans and do this all on my own, and the debt would land on me. Rochester would have been an extra cost and I would have had to get a job outside and not focus on my studies as much as I wanted, so I chose UMC. I also found out we got a laptop at the end of our studies which was a nice bonus.”
Crookston was the lucky one as Laurich became very involved in the campus. He was part of the S.P.A.C.E. (Student Programming and Activities for Campus Entertainment) program every year on campus, which is now called GEE (Golden Eagle Entertainment); he was the campus mascot, Regal, and would go around to community get-togethers, and appear at athletic games and special events; and he was the manager of the Info Desk for two years. Laurich was also involved in the theater department appearing in three different plays and, on top of that, he participated in the “Mr. UMC” pageant in 2016 and won.
One of Laurich’s favorite memories from his time at U of M Crookston, besides receiving his University of Minnesota degree in biology with concentrations in chemistry and environmental science, was the culmination of several years’ happenings making commencement that much more memorable for him.
“I had done research projects with Dr. Timothy Dudley and we had an inside joke about me tucking a napkin into my shirt at a research conference so I wouldn’t get it dirty,” Laurich explained. “He asked what I was doing and I told him I was ‘classically handsome’, and he couldn’t make me remove it. Dudley then gifted me a monocle as a graduation gift and I wore it as I walked up on the commencement stage. Chancellor (Fred) Wood lost it for a second. Chancellor Wood and I had a good relationship, too, and he would heckle me when I’d perform on stage in the auditorium.”
“Having one more laugh with the chancellor and getting an awesome gift from one of my mentors, the levity of it all and the completion of my journey helped further my events in life,” he added. “I’m grateful for UMC and to get those opportunities I would never have had at a larger campus.”
Written for the 2023 Torch magazine
