When Jordan Baade ’26, Annandale, a biology major, came to UMN Morris, he planned to pursue pre-medicine, but after interning at Agvise Laboratories in Benson, a soil and plant analysis company, he plans to use his biology degree in the area of environmental studies. Baade will finish his bachelor’s degree early — in just over three years — something he wasn’t planning to do when he started, but says “it just kind of worked out” well for him.
“I took summer classes and that's what helped out,” he says, adding, “I have an older sister that graduated in three years … so I knew it was possible.”
After hearing how much a family friend enjoyed their experience at UMN Morris, he decided to apply. He toured both the Duluth and Morris campuses and liked the smaller campus.
“I could walk across campus in, like, five minutes. I don't need to drive everywhere …it's definitely a benefit. Everything's so close together, so you can really pack in your schedule. You don't really have to account for commute times. [That] really stood out to me.”
Baade also was impressed with the diversity on campus, the local community, and the abundance of extracurricular activities available to all students.
“Like, this semester, I'm taking [violin and] cello lessons. I just picked that up, you know?”
Baade has also participated in the university’s chamber orchestra and Cougar cross country, golf, and track & field.
“I just kind of took those up when I got here.”
Baade appreciates the research skills and experience he gained from his classwork, which proved useful for his internships with Agvise, in turn, allowing him to apply what he learned in class in a real world setting.
Baade interned throughout the fall of his sophomore year and this past fall. For both internships, he was able to work in the lab and, specifically, analyzed samples for soybean nematodes, parasites that kill soybeans.
“[F]armers would send in soil samples and I would process them down, and then look at them under microscope for the nematodes and their larvae. The bulk of what I did, I learned how to do through my coursework… but like, really refined.”
After graduating, Baade will work at Agvise full time as a soil analyst, allowing him to continue participating in orchestra on campus, both of which he is enthusiastic about.
In reflecting on his time as a student, Baade says, “It's been great — [a] very fun experience.”
Something that really stood out to him though was how close the students are to professors.
“Most of [the professors] are just friends at this point, you know. You can really go talk to them easily and not feel intimidated. [W]ith the biology major specifically, I know everybody by name. We're all a tight-knit group. I just don't think that's possible many other places… it's unique.”