Below the Radar Agents: Roles of Virtual Mentors in the Decision-Making Process and Cultural Awareness of Prospective International Students

In this paper, we investigate the impact of virtual mentors (VM) on the decision-making process and cultural awareness of prospective international students. Through a theoretical dialogue between Bourdieu's cultural intermediation and Barad's new materialism, we seek to understand the translative function of virtual mentors from the Global South as they shape international education choices and serve as cultural ambassadors for universities in the Global North. Using a mixed-method approach, we show the motivations behind this work, drawing from our experiences as mentors and why prospective international students who cannot afford in-country education agents seek mentorship and guidance from these virtual mentors who work 'below the radar'. While students acknowledge that virtual mentorship interactions sometimes provide cultural awareness about international education, it doesn't prepare them well enough for the cultural demands placed on internationally mobile students from the