Riley J. Carlson attended Luther College for two years where she played on the Women’s Basketball Team, sang in the Collegiate Choir, and volunteered for the Iowa Child Advocacy Board as a Court Appointed Special Advocate. She then transferred to Minnesota State University, Mankato (MNSU) where she was a Dean's List recipient all semesters and graduated in 2022 with a Bachelor of Science in International Business with a concentration in Marketing and a minor in Political Science.

During her time at MNSU, Riley was a Student Senator for the College of Business in Student Government, Vice President of the Law Society, Secretary for the International Business Organization, and helped create ADA Accessibility policies for the University to honor students with disabilities on campus.