UNF kinesiology major turns passion for athletic performance into promising sport science career
For University of North Florida student Riley Parrish, the path to sport science began on the volleyball court while in high school.
As a setter standing only 5-foot-2, Parrish quickly learned she needed a competitive edge against taller, more agile players. That search for improvement led her to the weight room, where she discovered a fascination with how the body adapts to training, an experience that has shaped her academic and professional journey.
“I saw myself getting bigger, faster and stronger,” Parrish said. “It made me realize how much you can improve performance and help others do the same.”
As she prepares to graduate in July with a bachelor’s degree in kinesiology and a minor in psychology, Parrish has built a robust portfolio of hands-on experiences spanning athletics, research and applied sport science.
Early beginnings and building a foundation at UNF
Growing up, Parrish played numerous sports including volleyball, soccer, golf, tennis and flag football. An only child, Parrish relocated with her parents from Rockford, Illinois, to Melbourne, Florida, when she was 10.
While in high school, she began working out with the football team and was introduced to weightlifting. Impressed by her results and improved athletic performance, she began considering a career in exercise science to help others achieve their fitness and performance goals.
“I think it’s cool to be able to help people perform better,” said Parrish. “Learning how the body adapts is very fascinating to me.”
She chose to enroll at UNF in fall 2022, citing its well-rounded kinesiology program and smaller class sizes as main factors in her decision. Parrish received financial aid from the Florida Bright Futures Scholarship program and the UNF President's Silver Merit Scholarship.
Classroom Experiences and Faculty Mentors
Within the classroom, Parrish gravitated toward courses that combined science with applied learning opportunities. Taken during her junior year, she cites gross anatomy as one of her favorite courses.
“I really enjoyed the gross anatomy class for the sense of gaining real-world experience it offered,” said Parrish. “Not everyone can say that they worked with a cadaver in their undergrad.”
Other standout courses included Introduction to Kinesiology and Principles in Strength and Conditioning.
Parrish says her time in the UNF kinesiology program has been most fulfilling thanks to the guidance she has received from Dr. Caleb Williams, instructor of kinesiology. She credits his mentorship for helping her envision a career path in kinesiology at a time when she was unsure what path she wanted to pursue.
“Dr. Williams mentored me through the entire program,” she said. “If I ever need to talk about something, he’s the person I'd go to.”
In turn, Williams credits Parrish for taking the initiative to learn about various career paths and seeking opportunities to strengthen her knowledge and practical skills in kinesiology.
“Riley has always seized opportunities to help herself grow and become the best professional she can be,” said Williams. “Her hard work, dedication and love for the field of health and human performance paved the way for her to work at the Korey Stringer Institute at UCONN this summer. I am beyond proud of her and cannot wait to see where life takes her!”
Parrish says Dr. Gabby Brewer, a postdoctoral research associate in the Brooks College of Health, has also been a shining light in helping her navigate real-world professional experiences.
“There’s no way I would have gotten to where I am now without supportive faculty.”
Gaining experience in the field
A strong believer in going after what you want, Parrish wasted no time gaining practical experience outside of the classroom. She worked as a PT tech for six months during her freshman year.
Then she began a strength and conditioning internship with UNF Athletics in spring 2025 working with the men’s soccer team, as well as the baseball and men’s basketball teams by leading workouts in the weight room and conducting movement assessments, among other duties.
She also interned in the summer with the University of Wisconsin–Madison’s athletic department, where she worked with their Olympic sports teams including wrestling, swimming and diving, volleyball and men’s and women’s soccer.
Initially tasked with observational duties, Parrish advanced to leading lifts and coaching athletes as trust in her abilities grew. She said her time at UW-Madison showed her how malleable the body is and how seemingly small changes can make a big difference.
“Athletes are constantly getting better and they’re training longer,” said Parrish. “It's about what can we do to get that extra 1% out of them and help them perform well in their sport and not get injured.”
At UNF in fall 2025 into this spring, she took on an applied sport science role with the men’s soccer team, assisting with global positioning system (GPS) load monitoring, collecting and analyzing performance data during practices and games to evaluate athlete readiness, track workload trends and present findings to the coaching staff — strengthening both her analytical and communication skills.
“I would take the collected data, and help inform the coaches of game time decisions,” said Parrish. “It gave me a lot of public speaking experience because I was presenting data to the staff all the time.”
Research endeavors and leadership roles
Through her involvement with UNF men’s soccer, Parrish also gained valuable research experience in fall 2025 assisting a UNF graduate student conducting a 10-week training study with the women’s club lacrosse team. The study examined improvements in sprint performance and power output, contributing to measurable gains in athletic performance.
In February of this year, Parrish presented a research poster titled “Examining Relationships Between Anthropometric, Sprint, and Jump Performance in Collegiate Female Lacrosse Athletes” discussing the findings of this research at the Southeast American College of Sports Medicine Conference in Greenville, South Carolina.
In May 2026, Parrish began a 10-week summer internship at the Korey Stringer Institute (KSI) at the University of Connecticut, where she assisted with research on heat acclimatization and hypoxia — operating in dual roles as both a researcher and participant.
The experience, which runs through late July, offered what she describes as “a full undergraduate research experience in 10 weeks,” including data collection, participant monitoring and lab work.
“I believe that you do your best learning by doing,” said Parrish. “By taking on both roles, I feel it gives me more sympathy for the participants and what they are going through. If you’ve also been through it, you can relate more.”
Beyond academics and research, Parrish has developed in-depth leadership and interpersonal skills coaching club and high school volleyball athletes during the past three years. She says being a mentor to young girls is an exhilarating feeling.
“Seeing them grow as people and as players is the best satisfaction for me,” she said.
The proud Osprey also put her leadership skills on display while serving as president of the Kinesiology Student Association during the 2025–26 academic year, mentoring peers and fostering a supportive community within the program.
Future Plans
As she prepares to walk across the commencement stage on July 31, Parrish fondly acknowledges the support she received from family, faculty, coaches, athletes and her cohort.
Following graduation, Parrish will pursue a master’s degree in kinesiology with a concentration in human performance at Texas Tech University in the fall. There, she plans to continue working in research while maintaining her connection to athletics.
Long term, Parrish hopes to combine both worlds as a researcher and educator at the collegiate level.
“I want to teach and give others the mentorship experience I received at UNF,” she said.