Andrew Van Lew, graduate and international recruitment coordinator in the Graduate School and International Education, has been selected to serve as a coach again for the NAFSA Academy for International Education for 2026, marking the second year he has served as coach in the prestigious program.  

As a coach, Van Lew will work with four to six international education professionals from Region III of NAFSA — which includes schools from Arkansas, Louisiana, Texas and Oklahoma — in a mix of virtual and in-person discussions to provide professional development and tips on navigating the world of international education. The academy is a yearlong leadership development program with extensive networking opportunities.

As coach, Van Lew has spent the 2025 calendar year working with his current cohort of trainees in the program. He traveled to San Diego this summer for the annual NAFSA Conference, where he met with his cohort during an all-day training event. Trainees presented on their yearlong learning plans and progress they had made on the plans up to this point in the calendar year.

"Getting to be the 2025 NAFSA Academy coach for Region III has been an incredibly fun and meaningful experience," Van Lew said. "The six trainees I have coached and gotten to know over the past year are incredible international education up-and-comers with a lot of promise. Several of them will be presenting sessions for the first time at the Region III conference in Little Rock this November. I am excited to see them start to make their own transitions from being international education trainees to trainers." 

Van Lew has also integrated former GSIE staff into his professional development discussions as well. In the spring, he hosted Patricia Gamboa, assistant dean in GSIE, for a digital call with the cohort to discuss developing their business acumen. In July, he hosted another call discussing the highs and lows in international education and how to deal with them that included Michael Freeman, retired director of international students and scholars, and DeDe Long, retired director of study abroad and international exchange, offering their perspectives on the topic.  

"Michael and DeDe have a combined 80-plus years of experience in the field, so having them on the call was particularly special," Van Lew said.

Van Lew has served as the lead recruiter in GSIE since spring 2023. Prior to that, he worked for five years as an international student adviser in the university's Office of International Students and Scholars. He has been extensively involved with NAFSA during his time in international education at the U of A, including serving as the Arkansas state liaison for two years, where he assisted in planning state and regional conferences. He has also earned awards for his presentations at NAFSA conferences. He was also chosen as a participant in the NAFSA Academy in 2019 and was named the Region III Rising Star Young Leader Award in the same year.

NAFSA Association of International Educators is the world's largest nonprofit association dedicated to international education and exchange. The organization serves the needs of more than 11,000 members and international educators worldwide at more than 4,300 institutions across more than 170 countries.

Van Lew holds a bachelor's degree in political science from the University of California, Davis and a master's degree in cross-cultural and international education from Bowling Green State University. He is currently pursuing a doctorate in higher education from the U of A.