Growing up in Wyoming, Wil Atencio spent much of his time outdoors. Whether with friends or family, he was driven to explore and protect the ecosystems around him, but he always had a curiosity to explore beyond the borders of his landlocked home state. This December, Atencio transformed that childhood passion for nature into a future in marine ecology focused on preservation and restoration by completing his master’s in biology through the College of Science and Mathematics at Georgia Southern University.
“I used to go hiking, fishing, and rock climbing with my brother and my family, but I was really curious about all of the life happening around me,” Atencio said. “The interconnectedness of different species and the biodiversity was inspiring to me.”
While he always loved nature, it was his first visit to the Pacific Ocean that would ultimately direct his future path.
“I visited the ocean with my family in Oregon for the first time and I just fell in love with the coast there,” Atencio said. “There’s a certain complexity happening in a marine environment, and I think not being able to explore that early on made me determined to better understand it. I had experience with a variety of terrestrial jobs, but it always felt like something was missing. I wanted to go beyond that experience and get a better understanding of the marine environment as well.”
After completing his undergraduate degree in zoology at the University of Wyoming, Atencio earned a place in the graduate biology program at Georgia Southern where he enjoyed a freedom he hadn’t found to be an option at other institutions: the chance to determine his own research. This opportunity was even more exciting for Atencio because it placed him just a short drive away from the coastal habitats he was so eager to investigate.
“It isn’t just general biology that people are studying at Georgia Southern,” Atencio said. “It’s an incredibly diverse program. There are people, like me, studying marine ecology, people conducting molecular work or working with terrestrial plants, animals and insects. The diversity is what drew me here. It gave me the opportunity to really explore my interests and direct my own research instead of just being told what I would study.”
Funded through the Margaret A. Davidson Graduate Fellowship from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Atencio’s multi-year research focused on oysters, an integral part of the estuary ecosystems on the coast of Georgia and other states.
“I did my field research on Sapelo Island,” Atencio said. “The National Estuarine Research Reserve System has a system-wide monitoring program that tracks water quality. They have a similar system for tracking weather. I had an idea to leverage this data to better understand how environmental factors are influencing oyster population dynamics and diseases.”
The impact of his research reaches beyond simple estuary health, it also has the potential to impact new forms of aquaculture.
“Oysters are important,” Atencio said. “They provide a multitude of ecosystem services that are essential for healthy estuaries and we want to maintain that health. This research gives us a better understanding of how our restoration efforts can be successful, but there’s another side to this too. The state of Georgia recently opened leases for aquaculture which faces challenges with threats like diseases and placement of lease sites that are optimal for oyster growth. My research can help us understand current risks to better predict and protect oyster habitats, keeping systems healthy for farmers.”
In a full circle moment for Atencio, he had the opportunity to return to Oregon to present his research at a conference in Portland.
“Maybe it’s just fate, but of all of the conferences I attended, the Coastal & Estuarine Research Federation was the one that really stuck with me,” Atencio said. “It was so stressful leading up to the conference because I was preparing for my first-ever oral presentation and it felt like everything was going wrong. But then I gave the presentation and I just remember feeling very satisfied with all of my hard work afterward. I didn’t really think about it before, but it’s really cool now to recognize the connection between such an important professional moment and where it all began.”
In addition to the experience he gained through research and conference presentations, building connections proved to be another valuable part of his graduate school experience.
“I was told going into grad school that you’re not picking a school, you’re picking an advisor, and I felt that connection with mine from the first interview,” Atencio said. “But there were other connections who made a significant difference in my experience too. When I needed extra hands for my research over the summer, my friends were there to help. This last semester was challenging, but the support of the friend group that I was able to make here has been something that’s really special to me and that is going to be with me throughout the rest of my life.”
Building connections beyond the classroom also helped Atencio take the next step in his educational journey by securing a position at the University of Virginia.
“Starting in January, I will be managing a marine biology lab at the University of Virginia,” Atencio said. “I will be helping manage a team of undergraduates and working with the principal investigator on his research along with other graduate and Ph.D. students, which I’m really excited about. I connected with the professor I’ll be working with at one of my conferences. I think it really got my foot in the door to talk with him in person and connect before this opportunity was even available.”
While Atencio is excited for this next step in his career, he knows it won’t be the end of his journey.
“I think this opportunity is a great stepping stone for where I want to get to in the future,” Atencio said. “My dream is to work in marine management and restoration and I really want to continue to be part of work with real-world applications. The goal of my research has been to understand how it can be implemented to maximize success in protecting coastal ecosystems, and I want to keep doing that. I’m not sure what agency I’ll end up at, but I’m excited to see where the future takes me.”
