About
Mei Lin Tanaka has directed AB's Office of International Student Services since 2018. She manages every aspect of international student life at AB: from initial F-1 visa issuance and SEVIS reporting through campus arrival, academic and cultural orientation, year-round advising, OPT/CPT, and career-services placement.
Born in Singapore to a Taiwanese mother (a translator) and a Vietnamese-American father (a refugee resettlement coordinator), Tanaka grew up between Singapore and Boston. She holds an Ed.M. in Higher Education from Harvard University Graduate School of Education (2015) and a B.A. in International Relations and East Asian Studies from Tufts University (2011). Between her undergraduate and graduate work she was a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant in Da Nang, Vietnam (2011–2013).
Before AB she worked at Wellesley College's Slater International Center (2015–2018). She came to AB partly because — as she tells it — "a 1,100-student university with students from 28 countries is the kind of place where you actually know every international student by name. I had never had that." She is the principal designated school official (PDSO) for AB's F-1 program and serves on the NAFSA Region VIII steering committee.
Education
- 2015Ed.M., Higher Education — Harvard University Graduate School of Education.
- 2011B.A., International Relations & East Asian Studies (cum laude) — Tufts University.
- 2011–13Fulbright English Teaching Assistant — Da Nang, Vietnam.
Teaching
Tanaka teaches the AB International Student Orientation course each fall and co-advises the AB International Student Network.
- AB 115Bridge to College Hill (International Orientation)A required one-credit fall course for all incoming international students, covering academic culture, U.S. employment regulations, visa compliance, and the practical life of College Hill.
Practice & Advocacy
Tanaka's work is the daily practice of international student services at a small university — a discipline she calls "international student affairs as hospitality." Under her direction the AB international student population has grown from 48 students (2018) to 92 students (Fall 2025), and the OPT-placement rate within six months of graduation has risen from 71% to 94%.
She is a member of the NAFSA Region VIII steering committee, the AB representative to the Council on International Educational Exchange (CIEE), and the lead advisor to the AB Sister-Cities program with the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital in Kumasi, Ghana.
Selected Publications & Presentations
- 2024"The International Student at the Small Rural University." International Educator (NAFSA).
- 2023"Orientation as Hospitality." Journal of International Students.
- 2025Panelist, NAFSA Annual Conference, "Small College International Programs After the Pandemic."
Honors & Service
- 2024AB Staff Award for Excellence in Service.
- 2023NAFSA Region VIII Rising Star Award.
- 2018Appointed Director, International Student Services.
- 2011Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship, Vietnam.
I tell every international student arriving at AB: this is a small town. People will know your name within a week. That is the entire job description of College Hill. We do not have everything Wellesley or Harvard has. We have one thing they do not: a place where you are not a stranger.— Mei Lin Tanaka, Ed.M.
Beyond the Classroom
Tanaka lives in Philippi with her partner Lucas (a remote software engineer) and a small dog. She is the unofficial chef of the annual AB International Lunar New Year banquet (Mandarin-language toasts, Vietnamese phở by request, Japanese mochi for dessert), and the volunteer ESL tutor at the Barbour County Public Library.
A serious traveler, she has visited 47 countries; she returns to Vietnam every other summer to visit her host family in Da Nang.