LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The path to college can be difficult, and it can even look different to some students around Kentucky. On the campus of the University of Louisville, students are shedding light on that as we continue to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month.

Just under 23% of Hispanic and Latino Kentuckians have their Bachelor’s degree according to recent Census data. The journey to college can be frustrating for many because of language barriers, documentation status or being a first generation student. 

Out of nearly 23,000 students at UofL this year, roughly 1,200 of them are Hispanic or Latino. Diana Rivas is a junior Spanish major and biology minor on the pre-med track.

She’s part of the University’s first Latina sorority to make its way to campus, Gamma Phi Omega International Sorority, Incorporated. She has a goal of bridging the language barrier in the medical field. But before starting college, she says navigating things like FAFSA was difficult. 

“First of all, I didn’t know what FAFSA was until a few days before the application was due. All I heard was, ‘You have to apply for FAFSA for college.’ I didn’t know what that was,” said Rivas.

Ana Prata is a junior Martin Luther King Scholars student studying criminal justice in the school’s three plus three program. The program allows students to receive a Bachelor’s and Juris Doctorate in six years. Prata agrees with Rivas, adding that being a first generation Hispanic student navigating higher education can be challenging. 

“With first-generation students, we have to be self-reliant because even if our parents are sitting and helping us with college applications, they don’t fully understand what the process is like with languages. What are these fine prints, terms that are trying to be said?” said Prata.

Omar Luna is a sophomore majoring in civil engineering who loves to be involved on campus and taking part in sports. He echoes his peers that Hispanic students are continuing to increase in academic spaces and resources need to match those numbers.

“We need more resources to help us out because our percentages [number of Hispanic/Latino people in academia] just keep growing and they’re going to keep growing regardless,” said Luna.  

Rivas, Prata and Luna are all first generation college students and are part of UofL’s Hispanic Latino & Indigenous Initiative. They’re all trying to pave a way for their ethnicity in spaces they say don’t always cater to them.

The university’s Cultural Center is where you can find them between classes. The director of UofL’s Cultural Center Hispanic, Latinx & Indigenous Initiatives, Mónica Negrón, says this population is overlooked.

“Lack of representation is huge. We’re still going to be loud about it. We’re still going to make ourselves known, but we do need money,” said Negrón.

In order to keep Hispanic, Latino & Indigenous people in higher education, Negrón said it starts with receiving more funding. Students have to rely on institutional grants and scholarships to keep their status of documentation safe.

When asked how much the initiative would need to serve its nearly 1,200 Latino students each year, she said they’d need at least $100,000:

“And that being able to be something that we can continue to help our students, and being able to fund a scholarship that they know that [they] can make it and… be supported,” said Negrón.

Negrón is one of two people who UofL’s Hispanic population relies on often working well past 5pm to serve their students. Students also speak with Marcos Morales who serves as the program coordinator, Hispanic/Latinx & Indigenous Initiative. 

“The people that are creating community for us are also the Latinos that are creating community for us are the same ones that are being stretched too thin and I think by increasing resources here, it would be able to give them time to breathe and find themselves as much as they’re trying to help us,” said Prata.

Ana says that looks like adding more support staff and more scholarships. According to a 2015 study released by UofL, Latinos are the fastest growing group but also the school’s most under-represented demographic. To that, Omar wants everyone in his community to know one thing about navigating college as a Latino.

“I would tell them to keep going. Be the difference,” said Luna.

A difference that may inspire the next Hispanic Latino or indigenous student. UofL’s Hispanic, Latino & Indigenous Initiative urges any community member or student who wants to support them to join them for events or stop by the Cultural Center. 

Celebrating Hispanic Heritage will continue on UofL’s campus with Baila Conmigo. It’s an event to highlight Hispanic culture, food, dancing, and more. The event will be from 5 to 7 p.m. on October 12.

You can follow the Hispanic, Latino & Indigenous Initiative here on Facebook.