UCF recently announced an epic partnership with Universal Destinations and Experiences, resulting in a new school and a new technology lab that will train students interested in working in themed experiences.
Through a $10 million investment, Universal has been named a Pegasus Partner, UCF’s first in hospitality. The investment supports the creation of the School of Experience Leadership and Innovation as well as the Hospitality Technology Laboratory, both housed within the Rosen College of Hospitality Management.
Areas of focus for the laboratory include service robotics, augmented reality and virtual reality technologies for entertainment, and the use of artificial intelligence and digital twins for guest experiences. Students from the College of Engineering and Computer Science (CECS) can pursue interdisciplinary research opportunities through this lab, strengthening the college’s ties to the theme park giant.
Many CECS alumni are employed by Universal and contributed to the opening of its newest theme park, Epic Universe. They’ve shared their roles with the company, their experiences on opening day and how UCF prepared them for their engineering careers.
Sara Wijas ‘24
Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering
Associate Engineer, Controls
Universal Orlando Resort
Before Sara Wijas ’24 was a Universal employee, she was a fan of the parks. Her family took her to Universal Orlando for her 16th birthday and out of sheer happiness, she cried on the way there and on the way home. She never imagined she would land an internship at the theme park during college or turn her dreams into a career.
“Funnily enough, it didn’t dawn on me until halfway through the internship that a full-time position at a theme park was a real career option,” Wijas says. “Getting a job at Epic Universe was so exciting, because now I get to be part of building something greater than myself – something that one day another 16-year-old would get to visit and be overwhelmed with emotion the way that I was.”
Now Wijas works as an associate controls engineer, ensuring that every attraction operates safely while working to increase reliability and uptimes. When a ride goes down and technicians in that realm of the theme park can’t bring it back up, Wijas’ team is called in to help. Although she started working with Universal Creative to bring animatronics to life on rides like Monsters Unchained and at The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Ministry of Magic, she has since been involved with all attractions in Epic Universe.
Her favorite land is Super Nintendo World, which is rife with innovative technology. The binoculars around the land and Mario Kart: Bowser’s Challenge both utilize augmented reality while Bowser Jr. Shadow Showdown uses shadow-based motion tracking. The latter attraction, which projects guests’ shadows onto a screen and enables their movements to interact with the game engine and battle Bowser in a small arena, is Wijas’ favorite.
The electrical engineering alumna chose to pursue her education at UCF because of its proximity to major theme parks. She urges other engineering students who are interested in following a similar career path to pay attention in their software classes because object-oriented programming languages and PC-programming languages are used often in this line of work.
Through her hard work and pursuit of her passions, Wijas’ dreams of theme park adventures turned into a rewarding and dynamic career. The girl who wept tears of joy during her 16th birthday became the woman who helped launch a new, immersive park for a company she admired since childhood. She said the feelings on opening day of Epic Universe were indescribable.
“For a brief moment in time, all the team members and guests were the same; we were all just a bunch of big kids celebrating a really cool theme park together,” she says. “It was like I was seeing the park for the first time with them.”
Austin Kelly ‘16 ‘19MS
Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering
Master of Science in Industrial Engineering
Senior Manager, Business Analytics and Industrial Engineering
Universal Destinations and Experiences
For Austin Kelly ’16 ‘19MS, working at Universal was also a dream come true. His family started visiting the theme park before he was born but continued the tradition well into his childhood.
“I was a passholder and prioritized going to every attraction opening since I was able to, always looking at how the rides worked and how they could be better,” Kelly says. “Getting to help design Universal Epic Universe from the ground up is a lifelong dream come true.”
As the senior manager of business analytics and industrial engineering, Kelly’s job is to increase productivity in all lines of business by continuously improving processes and identifying opportunities for greater efficiency. For Epic Universe, he provided parkway capacity requirements for attractions, restaurants and even parking to ensure everything was sized correctly for the expected number of attendees.
He said that witnessing the park finally open was the culmination of years of hard work, collaboration and innovation.
“The project and opening teams watched the portals open from the Constellation Carousel courtyard as Mark Woodbury, the chairman and CEO, gave us an inspiring pep talk,” he says. “It was surreal getting to share the moment with some of my favorite people – best friends and family I’ve gotten closer with during the design process.”
Written by Marisa Ramiccio ’11 | June 1, 2026