Educated Here, Employed Here, Gives Here: Carissa Baker ’08MA ’18PhD
A Whole New World: How Carissa Baker Found Her Calling in Storytelling, Teaching and Giving Back
Carissa Baker ’08MA ’18PhD, an assistant professor of theme park and attraction management at UCF Rosen College of Hospitality Management (the World’s #1 Hospitality College!), has always lived at the intersection of imagination and determination. Born in Vermont and raised in Los Angeles by her single mother, she grew up with limited means but unlimited encouragement. Her mother, who worked tirelessly to provide for the two of them, instilled in Baker a deep respect for hard work, education and community. One of her mother’s simplest yet most profound gifts was weekly trips to the public library.
Baker says her mother took note of her daughter’s voracious appetite for books. Though she rarely checked out books for herself, she always made sure her daughter could leave with a stack – telling the librarian what a fast reader she was, allowing her to check out more than the allowable limit.
“That’s where it all started for me,” Baker says. “My love of storytelling came from books. My mom cultivated that, even when she didn’t have the time or resources to do it for herself.”
That early love of story eventually collided with another passion: theme parks. After studying performing arts in high school and earning her undergraduate degree at Chapman University in Orange County, California, Baker worked at both Universal Studios Hollywood and Disneyland. It was there, among roller coasters and dark rides, that she began to see theme parks not just as entertainment, but as living works of literature.
When it came time to pursue a graduate degree, she Googled “universities closest to Walt Disney World.” That search led her across the country to UCF, a bold leap that many around her considered risky. But Baker felt immediately at home. She earned her master’s in English, then her doctorate in Texts and Technology — an innovative program that allowed her to explore theme parks as a unique narrative medium. Her dissertation examined how theme parks tell stories through technology, design and immersion, placing them in the continuum of storytelling traditions alongside theater, film and video games.
Today, as an assistant professor at UCF’s Rosen College of Hospitality Management, Baker is recognized as one of the world’s foremost experts on theme park storytelling. She has consulted with parks around the globe — from Germany to Japan — helping them shape experiences that are not only technologically advanced but emotionally resonant. She also led the development of UCF’s theme park and attraction management degree and teaches courses on narrative in attractions, including one she first dreamed up as a graduate student.
“I pinch myself sometimes,” she says. “I get to research theme park storytelling, teach future industry leaders and see my students shaping the parks of tomorrow. It really is the dream job.”
Her expertise is not just academic — it’s also experiential. Over the last 20 years, Baker and her husband, Josh, have visited more than 200 theme parks and ridden more than 800 roller coasters around the world, though she still admits a soft spot for classic dark rides like Pirates of the Caribbean and Haunted Mansion.
“I call it research,” she jokes, though her insights have directly influenced the way parks design their attractions.
Yet for all her professional achievements, Baker’s heart remains grounded in service. Inspired by her mother’s generosity despite financial struggles, she has made philanthropy a central part of her life. She gives regularly to UCF, particularly to support UCF’s Rosen College of Hospitality Management students and first-generation scholarships. As a first-generation student herself, who worked up to 60 hours a week to pay her way through school, she knows firsthand how critical that support can be.
“My mom always gave, even when we didn’t have much,” Baker says. “That shaped me. Giving back isn’t optional for me — it’s essential. I want to help students who are walking the same path I did.”
That spirit of generosity extends beyond her financial contributions. She mentors students, advises a student organization for the future leaders of the theme park industry, works on thesis and dissertation committees and shares her story openly in hopes of encouraging others. Recently, she experienced one of her proudest moments: seeing her first doctoral student walk across the graduation stage, research in hand, ready to shape the industry in her own right.
For Baker, it all comes back to the power of stories — the ones we inherit, the ones we create, and the ones we live. “UCF helped me become more than I thought I could be,” she says. “Now I get to help others imagine, and achieve, even more than they ever dreamed.”
