Love and Serve the Sojourner: The International Student Experience at Baylor

A cup of coffee.

A familiar face.

A flag from home hanging on the wall.

A family inviting you to their home for Thanksgiving.

For someone who has traveled thousands of miles to study in a new country, these moments can mean far more than they might seem.

Adapting to life in a new country is one of the most difficult things a person can undertake. Doing so while pursuing an academic degree adds another layer of complexity: unfamiliar academic expectations, new cultural norms, immigration requirements and the simple challenge of finding your place in a community where almost everything feels different.

So what responsibility does a faith-based research university have to the international students who choose to make that journey?

At Baylor University, we believe the answer begins with a simple calling: to love and serve the sojourner.

That calling shapes the way we think about the international student experience—not simply as a collection of services, but as a commitment to helping students feel welcomed, seen, connected and equipped to succeed. Ultimately, we want international students to experience Baylor as more than a place where they earn a degree.

We want it to feel like home.

A Place to Come With Questions

Baylor already places a high value on serving students, but several years ago, we made a deliberate decision to take that commitment a step further for our international students. We wanted our office to be the place students came when they had a question—not simply the place they visited because they had violated a policy or needed a signature.

Sometimes, that means sitting down together to work through a complicated issue. Other times, it means answering a question that might seem small but feels enormous when you are navigating an unfamiliar country. Sometimes, it means coffee.

Our reception area offers students coffee, tea and snacks throughout the week, creating a simple, welcoming space where they can stop by, sit down and talk. We also require students to meet with us in person at key points throughout their time at Baylor.

Those face-to-face interactions matter. Students regularly tell us that they felt welcomed and supported during their time here, reinforcing something we have learned again and again: service is not only about solving problems. It is about building relationships.

Seeing Yourself at Baylor

Belonging often begins with something as simple as being seen.

For international students, seeing a piece of home represented on campus can be surprisingly powerful. At Baylor, the flags of countries represented by our international community are prominently displayed for the entire campus to see, and students regularly tell us what it means to walk onto campus and spot their own country’s flag in a public space.

It is a small gesture with a big message: You are here. We see you. You belong.

That message becomes even more visible each fall, when international students have the opportunity to carry their country’s flags during one of Baylor’s largest university traditions. Faculty, staff, students and thousands of alumni see them as they make their way through the event. Many students wear traditional clothing as well, proudly sharing another part of their identity and culture.

The response is consistent: cheers, applause and encouragement from the Baylor community.

Throughout the year, events such as Global Snack Hour and the International Festival provide additional opportunities for students to share the places and traditions that shaped them. Food, crafts, dance and art become more than entertainment; they become invitations to learn from one another.

During the 2025–2026 academic year, Global Snack Hour averaged 65 students per event—25% above our participation goal. But the number that matters most is what happens when a student realizes that their culture is not something they have to leave at the door when they arrive at Baylor.

They can bring it with them.

Finding Connection From Day One

For many international students, the first days on a new campus can feel both exciting and overwhelming. A new country, a new university, a new academic system and, often, a new language and culture make connection from the very beginning especially important.

Through Baylor’s CGE Ambassadors Program, current undergraduate and graduate students—both international and domestic—are selected to welcome and guide new students as they begin their Baylor journey. They answer questions, share advice and listen. Perhaps most importantly, they understand what it feels like to be new.

The Global Friendship Program extends that sense of connection beyond campus by pairing international students with Baylor students and families in the Waco community. For an international student, that might mean spending an afternoon with an American family, experiencing a holiday tradition for the first time or simply having a place to go when campus feels unfamiliar.

These relationships create something that no orientation session can provide on its own: a sense of belonging.

During the 2025–2026 academic year, 14% of new international students participated in the Global Friendship Program. Each connection is an opportunity to make Waco feel a little less unfamiliar and Baylor feel a little more like home.

Helping Students Find Their Academic Footing

Belonging is important. So is success.

The transition into the U.S. academic system can be genuinely disorienting for students who have never studied here before. Expectations about the role of a student, the role of a professor, classroom participation and teaching methods can differ significantly from what students have experienced in other countries.

At Baylor, we don't assume students will simply figure it out on their own. A dedicated International Student Academic Support staff member meets with students as needed and proactively reaches out to those identified as struggling through faculty reporting.

We also address the transition directly. Undergraduate students who have not studied in the United States for at least one full academic year are required to complete a one-credit Transition to the U.S. University course. The course helps students understand the academic culture they are entering and gives them tools to navigate unfamiliar expectations.

The investment is paying off. Fall-to-Fall retention for first-year international undergraduates reached 80.6% in 2025–2026, exceeding our 79% goal.

At the graduate level, courses for International Teaching Assistants and Academic Writing have become so valuable that the Graduate School and faculty actively encourage international students to participate.

Academic support, in this context, is about more than improving a grade. It is about giving students the confidence to participate fully in the academic community.

More Than a Degree

When we talk about supporting international students, it can be tempting to think in terms of programs, services and numbers. How many students attended an event? How many participated in a friendship program? How many were retained?

Those numbers matter. They help us understand whether what we are doing is working.

But they don't tell the whole story.

The heart of this work is a student who walks into our office because they know someone will listen. It is a student who sees their country's flag on campus and realizes they have not left their identity behind. It is a student invited into an American family's home for the first time. It is a student who begins a difficult semester unsure of the academic expectations and finishes it knowing they can succeed.

These moments are what it means to love and serve the sojourner.

At Baylor University, our commitment to international students is not simply about helping them navigate a new country or succeed academically. It is about helping them become valued, contributing members of the Baylor community.

They enrich our classrooms with perspectives from around the world. They contribute to Baylor's research mission. They share their cultures with their peers. They build friendships across borders. And, in turn, Baylor becomes a little more global, a little more connected and a little more reflective of the world we are called to serve.

The sojourner may arrive at Baylor as a stranger.

Our hope is that they leave knowing they were never meant to remain one.