Fostering Belonging and Inclusion: The Role of Women Custodians in Student Housing

WOMEN CUSTODIANS PLAY AN ESSENTIAL, YET OFTEN INVISIBLE, ROLE in shaping student belonging in on-campus housing communities. This critical qualitative study explores how women custodians contribute to Latine students’ sense of belonging in university residence halls. Using pláticas—a culturally grounded conversational methodology—with six first-generation Latine college students, the study centers on student voices to examine how informal, relational interactions with custodial staff offer emotional support, cultural affirmation and a sense of home. Guided by frameworks of community cultural wealth (Yosso, 2005), sense of belonging (Strayhorn, 2019), and invisible work (Daniels, 1987; Hatton, 2017), the findings reveal that women custodians foster community through everyday acts of care that are often overlooked by institutional structures. These relationships are grounded in shared cultural experiences, language, and values, and are sustained through reciprocal exchanges that reflect mutual respect and community. The study challenges traditional definitions of student support by highlighting the relational labor of women custodians as central, not peripheral, to Latine students’ success. It calls for higher education institutions to recognize and honor the often-unacknowledged work that staff perform outside their formal roles, particularly in student housing. In doing so, we affirm the role of women custodians as vital contributors to inclusive, culturally responsive campus environments.