Patrick Baca is descended from a Nuevo Mexicano family that has lived in New Mexico for many generations. He grew up in Central New Mexico, surrounded by the natural world, which sparked his curiosity and led him to ask questions about the living world. After moving to Albuquerque, Baca pursued his personal and academic interests in biology.

Baca attended Central New Mexico Community College (CNM), earning associate's degrees in biology, sociology, and criminology alongside his high school diploma. In high school, Patrick began an internship at ¡Explora! The Science Center and Children's Museum of Albuquerque, where he used interactive science exhibits to teach science to patrons of all ages. During his last semester of high school, Patrick attended New Mexico Tech and studied biochemistry.

After high school, Baca enrolled at The University of New Mexico (UNM), where he studied evolutionary anthropology with a concentration on human biology and earned a B.S. He began a post-baccalaureate research project under the direction of Dr. Siobhán Mattison. In the summer of 2024, this project took Baca to the small island county of Vanuatu, where he conducted fieldwork on human health, economic development, and mortuary ecology on the Island of Tanna.

Baca is a first-year master's student in evolutionary biology, advised by Thomas Turner. His research is focused on evolutionary genomics and population genetics of freshwater fishes in the American Southwest, and he plans to utilize the immense collections of the Museum of Southwestern Biology at UNM to research these topics.