Alex McPhee ’25 | Duluth, Minnesota
Majors: Biology, Environmental and Sustainability Studies

Can you tell us a little bit about what inspired you to go into biology and environmental studies?

A lot of my favorite activities growing up were things like hiking, hunting, fishing. I just really enjoyed the outdoors. I guess I want to eventually have a career where I can give back to them.

Can you tell us about your research?

My research with Dr. Bush this past summer was looking at how land use is impacting the diet preference of small fishes in the Red River Valley. We would go out and sample fish with a backpack electroshocker, and then go back into the lab to dissect them and figure out what exactly they were eating, like the macroinvertebrates and stuff that made up their diet. Eventually, the study is also going to take into account some land use, whether it’s agriculture or roadways that surround those streams. The goal is to see if there’s any linkage between what the fish are eating and what the land use around the sites are.

Can you talk a little bit about how field research has been an important part of your time here?

Field research has been the most fun thing I’ve done here at Concordia. Getting to go out into the field with the backpack electroshocker and sample fish has been really awesome. It has cemented that working in a natural resource field is something I want to do in the future.

Do you have a favorite location you’ve researched?

My favorite location would maybe be the Rush River in North Dakota. It’s a really small stream, so we were able to sample it pretty effectively and see a lot of cool stuff there.

Do you have a favorite class?

The best class I’ve taken at Concordia has probably been entomology. I took it after my summer research experience. I was looking at all the aquatic insects in the lab all summer, and then I got to go into the classroom and learn a little bit about them as well as their terrestrial adult forms. A lot of the ones that live in the water are the larval forms, and then they’ll hatch and be terrestrial after that.

How has being on the impacted your time at Concordia?

Wrestling has been a super important part of my time here at Concordia. Part of the reason why I chose Concordia was that it gave me the opportunity to continue wrestling and continue competing. I really enjoyed that I was able to do that, along with getting a great education here.

Do you have any plans for after graduation?

I have a summer job lined up doing invasive species management in Detroit Lakes. I don’t 100% know what I want to do in the future careerwise, but something along the lines of natural resources.

What do you like about being a Cobber?

I really like the small class sizes. I get to have a better relationship with my professors than I would have at a larger school.

Any advice for future Cobbers?

If you have a chance to have a summer research experience, or if you’re interested in natural resources, that’s a super good way to learn if that’s something for you and get extra experience to add to your resume.

^{Published May 2025}