From May 27 to May 31, our office will be closed.  May 27, Tulane University is closed in observance of Memorial Day.  May 28- May 31, the entire OISS team will be attending the NAFSA Annual Conference.  As the most important annual event for international educators, this conference will provide our team with vital updates and ideas that will help us to better serve our international community.  As a bonus, we’re using this opportunity to update the carpet at 6901 Willow. 

If you have any timely requests, such as an OPT, CPT, or Academic Training application or a program extension, please be sure to get complete application to your OISS advisor no later than Friday, May 17 to allow for 3 to 5 business days for processing.  If not, we may not be able to complete your request before the conference. 

During this time, we’ll be monitoring our email for true immigration emergencies, but please be sure to expect a delay in our response.  We’ll still be there if you really need us. 

Thank you for your cooperation,

The OISS Team

Office of International Students & Scholars
Latin America and the Caribbean

 

"I am from Cali, Colombia, but I studied in an American school in Colombia, so all of my classes were in English. And all of my teachers were American. If you're exposed to different cultures since you are very young, I think your mind just has no frontiers. For example, Colombia is a third world country and people think about things from a very rational point of view. Americans are maybe a bit more dreamy and they think that they can reach whatever they put their minds to. Colombians are so much more down to earth about certain things and they just think 'It's ridiculous. I will never do this. Why should they even try?' Just being exposed to [American culture] gave me [the sense of] 'Why not?' Go for it. Try it out see what happens.

I'm an MBA student that has been out in the real world getting experience and many full time MBA students here have not had that much real life experience. So I try to give a little bit of my experience, my real life experience. So sometimes when you think about things, the sky's the limit, right? But when I go into class and I try to drag everybody down to the earth. The most stupid example, it's like 'When do you think cars will drive by themselves?' And some people are like "Oh 5, 10 years, all around the world for sure!' I'm like 'No no no no no. In certain parts of the U.S, maybe. But like, come on, in Colombia? That's going to take them more than 10 years! That for sure is not going to happen. You've got to lower your expectations there.' It is interesting to see how our backgrounds shape us. Actually that's the most interesting thing for me as an international student to be here to see that open minded picture. But also it's interesting for the students that are here to have me as a classmate because they can see how I see life and how things are from a different point of view."