You Can Do Marine Biology From Anywhere

Julianna Acuña on a childhood dolphin encounter, building a marine science career from the Arizona desert, and what it actually takes to change how people treat wildlife

Right after I graduated college, I went for a swim at Crystal Cove State Beach in Orange County. Past the break, a pod of dolphins came close enough that I could see them underwater when I opened my eyes. Close enough to hear them talking to each other. I still think about that swim more than almost anything else from that year of my life.

Julianna displaying collected sand dollars at La Jolla Shores beach

Julianna Acuña had her own version of that moment, decades earlier and a lot further from the ocean.

She grew up in Tucson, Arizona — landlocked, nowhere near saltwater — but spent her childhood summers with family in San Diego, running straight into the water before anyone could put sunscreen on her. One day, swimming out further than she probably should have, a pod of dolphins surfaced close enough to see. "I think this is my future," she remembers thinking. She was maybe ten years old.

That one afternoon turned into a career nobody would have predicted from a desert kid: a B.S. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from the University of Arizona, the presidency of the university's Marine Awareness and Conservation Society, a curatorship of the largest stickleback fish collection in the country, and — right now — a research project examining how people and wildlife collide at one of the most visited coves in California.

Julianna is spending her summer on a Marine and Community Conservation Externship

through the National Geographic Society and The Nature Conservancy, studying human-wildlife interactions at La Jolla Cove. It's pupping season for the California sea lions there, which means the cove is full of newborns — and full of tourists who don't always know that touching a pup can get it abandoned by its mother.

It's not the first time this externship has crossed paths with this show, either. Hopeful by Nature's very first guest, Forbah Sandra Ngwemetoh, went through the same program — in Cameroon, where she built the country's first ocean literacy education initiative. Different coastlines, different oceans entirely, but the same instinct: turn a research question into something a community can actually use. If you haven't heard that conversation yet, it's worth going back to (Episode 1).

Her research so far has surprised her in a good way. She expected a mixed response to her public survey — people who care, people who shrug. Instead, nearly everyone who responded wanted the same thing she does: fewer bad interactions, more education, a way to actually help. Her plan from here includes a self-guided audio walking tour of the cove, QR-coded flyers, and eventually — she hopes — a long-term study measuring whether education actually changes behavior during peak tourist season.

The line from her that's stuck with me most wasn't about sea lions at all. It was about how she's trying to reach people:

"You can't just throw facts at people. That's a lot of the issue with science communication — you have to change the way you talk to people, not just tell them why."

That's not a small insight for someone who hasn't finished her first year out of undergrad. It's the same lesson that takes most people in this field a decade to learn the hard way.

Julianna presenting specimens from Arizona University's Marine Awareness and Conservation Society's collection

Julianna's already thinking past the externship, toward a nonprofit of her own — one that blends mentorship for students pursuing STEM with hands-on opportunities in science communication and outreach. When I asked why start something new instead of joining an existing organization doing similar work, her answer was straightforward: she wants room to build it exactly the way she sees it, mentorship and communication and conservation access all under one roof, not scattered across three different programs.

I asked her, like I ask everyone, what one thing a listener could actually do as soon as they finish this episode. Her answer had range — tide pooling carefully, calling a marine mammal rescue line if you see an entangled animal, a beach cleanup, a public comment letter — but the through-line was the same thing she'd been saying the whole conversation. You don't have to be an expert to get involved. You just have to start.

Julianna looking out to sea wearing her Marine Awareness and Conservation Society t-shirt

If you're ever standing near wildlife and you're not sure how close is too close, Julianna gave us a good rule: hold your thumb out at arm's length, close one eye. If your thumb doesn't fully cover the animal, you're too close. Works for

. Works for pretty much anything wild, anywhere.

Listen to this week's episode of Hopeful by Nature wherever you get your podcasts.

— Scott

Wildward Institute supports organizations, educators, and parents building meaningful relationships between young people and the outdoors. Learn more at wildwardinstitute.net.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

Marine & Community Conservation Externship (National Geographic Society / The Nature Conservancy / Extern) · Minorities in Shark Sciences · Sea Otter Savvy · Julianna on Instagram: @monstros_mom · Julianna on LinkedIn · Episode 1 with Forbah Sandra Ngwemetoh

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