Growing up in Minnesota, Riley O’Neil spent the first years of her life never seeing the ocean. In fact, it was not until she went to college at the University of Delaware that she got to truly experience being near the Atlantic. 

Still, despite her low contact with the ocean, O’Neil knew marine science was the right path for her from an early age. The moment she watched the British Broadcasting Corporation’s “Blue Planet” nature documentary series as a kid, O’Neil was hooked on the marine world. Even though it would mean moving away from home, O’Neil looked at UD’s marine science program and decided to apply.

“Going from Minnesota to UD was definitely a big move,” O’Neil said. “I had never left home to that degree, but UD came onto my radar when looking for marine science programs.

Once beginning her studies at the university in 2019, O’Neil spent her years in Delaware falling more in love with marine science, crediting UD’s program and research opportunities as part of the reason why.

Like all other marine science students, O’Neil had the opportunity to spend a semester at the university’s Lewes campus, where she got hands-on experience in all sectors of the field. During her semester in Lewes, she got to go out on boats, trawl for animals and conduct fieldwork outside. She also noted that the classes were so interactive, as they spent time doing dissections and catching various critters. 

“That semester in Lewes was the first time I really got to first-hand experience the field,” said O’Neil. “It definitely was what made me realize I was in the right career.”

After graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree in 2022, O’Neil moved back to Minnesota and began to work at a local aquarium. That October, she moved to Texas where she worked as a research technician with the University of Texas Marine Science Institute. 

Now, O’Neil is preparing to embark on her next journey: heading to Alaska for graduate school.

“I’m really hitting all the coasts,” O’Neil said. “I’ve got the North, East and South under my belt, and now I’m about to have the West too.”

In Alaska, O’Neil will partake in a master’s program in marine biology at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks. There she will study the impact of mariculture activity, which includes oyster and mussel farming in coastal Alaska, and the impact of that on sea otter prey.

According to O’Neil, there is a big interest in how those farms are going to impact the Alaskan coastal ecosystem, in which sea otters play a large part. 

Additionally, she has always been interested in kelp forest ecosystems, which O’Neil noted are found on the west coast.  

O’Neil also explained that this project involves a lot of scuba diving, an activity she has been doing since age 10. 

“Really this opportunity felt like the perfect combination of all my interests,” O’Neil said. “It is again another big move, but I feel it will be so worth it, just like UD and Texas were.”

Long-term, O’Neil hopes to work in some branch of government research, listing the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration or a state’s Department of Fish and Wildlife as her top choices. To her, staying in research while also getting to go out in the field is an important balance that she wants to maintain throughout her career.

“I genuinely think one of the biggest perks of being in marine science is that you get to go to some of the most amazing places in the world and always be traveling,” O’Neil said. “I’m thankful to have gotten these experiences as early as my time as an undergrad in Delaware.”