Finding purpose on and off the rink
Olympic hockey player and Arts alum Kristin O’Neill balances elite athletics with academic curiosity
For Kristin O’Neill (MASc ’24), success has never been about choosing between the classroom and the rink. Instead, her journey has been defined by balance – between elite athletics and academic curiosity, between resilience and reflection, and between chasing Olympic dreams while building a future beyond hockey.
That balance became especially important during the early years of her hockey career. After completing her undergraduate degree in Human Development at Cornell University, where she also captained the women’s hockey team, O’Neill entered an uncertain professional landscape. With limited league structure before the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL) was established in 2023, many athletes were left navigating short-term opportunities.
Reflecting back, O’Neill says “you’re always training at the highest level, but you don’t always know what the next year – or even the next season – will look like.”
During that period, she represented Canada at multiple IIHF Women’s World Championships, where she captured three gold and two silver medals, while steadily establishing herself as a trusted two‑way centre at the international level.
Even as O’Neill’s PWHL career progressed, first playing for Montreal Victoire in 2023, she began thinking more intentionally about her life beyond the game. “I’ve always really enjoyed school,” she says. “I knew I wanted something for myself away from the rink – sense of purpose that wasn’t only tied to hockey.”
That intention led her to the University of Waterloo’s Faculty of Arts, where she enrolled in a psychology master’s program while continuing to train in Waterloo at an elite level in hopes to make her Olympic depute in 2026.
O'Neill scores a shorthanded goal in the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics women's gold medal hockey game. Photo: Leah Hennel, courtesy of the Canadian Olympic Committee
From setback to the world’s biggest stage
Making Canada’s Olympic roster was not a straight path for O’Neill who had been cut from the 2022 Olympic team. But her moment came for 2026: “When I eventually got that call, I was actually sitting in this exact spot,” O’Neill recalls from her Ontario home. “Being able to share that moment with my family was incredibly surreal.”
The Olympic experience itself lived up to every cliché, says O’Neill, starting with the opening ceremonies where the magnitude of the moment really sank in.Surprisingly, the moment that stands out for fans across the country, when O’Neill scored the first goal in the gold medal game, feels hazy to her.
“I don’t really remember much from it,” she admits. “What I know comes mostly from watching the video afterward. In that moment, it was shock more than excitement. My mind was kind of blank.”
That shock may reflect the weight of the moment – the years of preparation, pressure and expectation culminating all at once. It’s a reminder that even the most celebrated highlights are complex human experiences.
Building an identity beyond hockey
While O’Neill’s athletic accomplishments are widely recognized, her academic journey has been just as meaningful—and deeply connected to her success as an athlete.
At Waterloo, she focused on child development and language, setting her sights on a future in speech pathology. With support from the School of Psychology and her supervisor Dr. Katherine White, O’Neill completed much of her degree in person while training full-time. Even after being drafted to Montreal, she was able to finish her coursework remotely. “I really can’t thank the Waterloo community enough,” she says, “the flexibility and support made it possible.”
For O’Neill, the connection between academics and athletics is clear. “Being a good student has helped me as an athlete, and being an athlete has helped me as a student,” she says. “Time management, discipline, and having a sense of purpose—it all carries over.”
That sense of purpose proved especially valuable during uncertain moments in her career. “Going back to school gave me something that belonged to me outside the rink,” she reflects. “That mattered more than I realized at the time.”
Her story reflects something deeply rooted in the Faculty of Arts: the understanding that success isn’t linear and that the most meaningful paths are often the ones that allow space for curiosity, change, and growth.
O’Neill recently signed with the PWHL’s San Jose expansion team where she’ll continue to compete at the highest level – growing as both an athlete and learner. When the time comes, she plans to return to school and pursue speech pathology, building on the graduate studies foundation she developed at Waterloo.
