Archive for the ‘Shedd Aquarium’ tag
Surviving Bonds
On a gray Wednesday morning in November, in the marine mammal auditorium at Shedd Aquarium in Chicago, Lyssa McGurren stood in a wetsuit, leaning against the glass partition and polished aluminum railing surrounding the ocean habitat. It was the day before Thanksgiving, not exactly the aquarium’s busy season, and she was fielding questions from the crowd as they filed out following the daily dolphin presentation. Her feet planted on a concrete ledge facing the pool, one of the aquarium’s Pacific white-sided dolphins streaked through the water beneath her. Growing up in the nearby suburb of Northbrook, she always wanted to be a dolphin trainer. She was a strong swimmer and diver from an early age, and fell in love with the ocean and dolphins while spending vacation time with her grandparents in Florida. She resolved to make working with marine animals her career. “I couldn’t see myself not doing it,” she says. “It’s my dream job.”