Supporting Students from Latin America and the Caribbean: Context, Culture and Connection

Over the past two decades, Latin America and the Caribbean has become an increasingly important region in global higher education. Yet even as the number of globally mobile Latin American and Caribbean students grows, the experiences of students from the region—and how institutions support them—are relatively underdiscussed topics in the field.

For international student and scholar services (ISSS) professionals, supporting Latin American and Caribbean students often involves helping them manage cultural differences, family expectations, financial pressures, and shifting immigration policies. Experts agree that understanding these dynamics—and listening closely to students' experiences—is key to building effective support systems.

A Diverse Region, Often Oversimplified

Students from Latin America and the Caribbean bring significant cultural and intellectual contributions to U.S. campuses.

"The students who are studying at Baylor [University] from Latin American and Caribbean countries enrich our campus community with their talents and skills," says Eduardo Contreras Jr., vice provost for global engagement at Baylor University (Baylor). "They also contribute to campus life by sharing their own cultural traditions, cuisines, and distinctive identities."

By simply being part of the campus community, they contribute by challenging simplified perceptions of the region. Contreras explains that many people in the United States don't fully appreciate the region's diversity. "Since there is great diversity in culture and context [among] Latin American and Caribbean nations, this adds to the richness of the Baylor experience," he says.

For institutions located in areas with large Latin American communities, there can be a tendency to treat the region as culturally familiar