This dissertation is a retrospective interview study of eight Latino college students and the factors that led them to be judged by their college professors as outstanding writers. The participants have made it past various social and academic barriers to attend and succeed in a prestigious four-year university. All of the students come from low-income families in high poverty communities, and spoke no English at the time of entrance in school. Their parents had little or no formal education. There is great educational and societal need to understand the kinds of experiences that these traditionally under-served students encounter in K-College that enhance and sustain their literacy growth and contribute to their notable academic success. This research will contribute to the diversity of literacy studies by providing concrete examples of what sponsors and mentors in and out of school do to assist Latino students in learning to write. Findings from this dissertation may have significant implications for writing instruction and interventions for Latino students and other under-served groups of students in K-College classrooms.