There are more international students interested in attending LSU for their area of study.
Hector Zapata native of honduras has worked with the LSU International program for five years. 25 years prior to LSU, Zapata worked alongside other international programs across the world.
“Roughly we have 15,090 international students at LSU this semester and it has fluctuated around 16 to 17 hundred,” Zapata said.
There has been more international students interested in coming to LSU over the past few years. The Director of International Services, Natalie Rigby described the rise in international interest at LSU.
“The world is changing and it is getting smaller and there is a lot of things happening with government agencies and officials, but certainly in the United States and at LSU and our offices, the idea is that we like to have open arms,” Rigby said.
Most of these students are coming from China and India, however, there is quite a mixture of international students from other countries as well.
“The International Cultural Center does an outstanding job in making sure that these students have their basic needs for when they arrive,” Zapata said. “It is a new place and a new culture. They need that support and we do the best we can to provide it.”