LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — Freshman Thomas Riley has had blue in his blood since he was a kid.
“Coming from McLean County, the biggest thing over there is family. So, my dad going here, and everybody in my family being a UK fan, you know Big Blue, I always thought I was going to go to UK,” said Riley.
The freshman is part of a record-setting class for the University of Kentucky, which is welcoming over 6,500 first-year students.
“I love [University of] Kentucky. Also, it’s a great program for what I want to go into,” said Riley. “To be in the biggest group of freshmen to come through here, it’s pretty nice.”
Wildcats who stay in the state post-graduation fill a big community need. Kentucky traditionally has one of the lower labor participation rates in the country.
“Kentuckians have a lot of pride in their state. They love their state, they want to make it better. UK is, in many ways the symbol of the state,” said University Spokesperson Jay Blanton.
Blanton says that the areas of study that are growing the most on campus are those that align with the state's needs, like Riley's, who wants to be a pharmacist.
“That means the mission is meeting the moment,” said Blanton.
“I mean if you just get a degree from University of Kentucky, it’ll look really good,” concluded Riley. “It was definitely a dream come true.”
