The purpose of this research project, prompted by the Office for Institutional Diversity, was to comprehensively collect the first draft of the history of Latino students at the University of Kentucky from 1865 through 2019. Digital and physical archival research, participant observation, and interviews were conducted in the process of understanding and analyzing the evolution of this historically underserved community. The extensive implications of this collection will serve as a formalized foundation that will further indicate the changing needs of the Latino community on campus. This collection of history also legitimizes the experiences of students of Latin American descent at UK and affirms a sense of belonging within the community as the history of Latino students at the University of Kentucky is propagated, expanded on, and intertwined with the overarching history of the University. Significant student histories, collective student efforts, and institutional support are recognized to form the structure for the first draft of the timeline. The concluding first draft of this timeline reveals a scarce, but significant, presence of students of Latin American descent dating back to 1874. The exponential increase onwards from the 1990s of students who identify as Hispanic/Latino/Latinx at the University of Kentucky presents a new, thriving reality that would not have been made possible without the infrastructure built by our past
