Margaret (Peg) Reich has served as Director of International Student and Scholar Services since 2004. She grew up in Quincy, Illinois on the Mississippi River and attended high school in a suburb of Chicago. She earned a B.A. in English from Kalamazoo College (Michigan), spent her junior year at the Université de Clermont-Ferrand (France), and completed an M.A.T. degree at Northwestern University (Illinois).

Having begun her career in education as an English teacher on the secondary level in Illinois and New Jersey, Peg then worked as an adviser to pre-health professions students at Rutgers University. She came to the University at Albany in 1980, serving as an academic adviser in the Center for Undergraduate Education. After a brief stint teaching English as a Second Language at Union College and with the Literacy Volunteers program, Peg returned to the University at Albany as Assistant to the Director in the Office of International Programs (now Study Abroad and Exchanges) from 1998-2004. In that position she worked with incoming exchange students and advised American students about study abroad opportunities in South Africa, Norway and Sweden.

Peg has traveled extensively throughout Western Europe and one summer escorted a student group to Montpellier, France. She lived in Geneva, Switzerland, for a year and has also visited China, Ghana, South Africa, Mexico and Morocco.

Peg is a member of NAFSA: Association of International Educators and regularly attends regional and national conferences to stay current with changes governing the activities of international students and scholars in the U.S. She has a special interest in Africa and is co-chair of UAlbany’s Africa Consortium. Her other interests include music (she plays piano and cello and sings in a choral group), gardening and reading. She and her husband live in Schenectady and have one son who is a doctoral student in philosophy at Ohio State University.

Annie Heavener has been advising international students at the University at Albany since 2004. Somewhat of a career student herself, she’s earned two B.S. degrees – one in Anthropology (1996) and one in History (2002) – and a M.Ed. in Higher Education – College Student Services, all from Grand Valley State University. Annie is currently pursuing her M.A. in History (part-time) at the University at Albany.

Always the non-traditional student, Annie took a break from her undergraduate studies and spent two years as a field archaeologist in southwestern Ukraine (1992-1994). Annie jokes that this was “when I got to dig up dead bodies for a living.”

When she’s not in the ISSS office, Annie is an avid reader and can usually be found wandering the aisles at Borders and Barnes & Noble. She is also a big movie goer – and prefers the weekend matinees (they’re less expensive and usually empty). And, finally, she is helplessly, hopelessly addicted to knitting. Seriously, folks, she needs a 12-step program for the yarn obsessed. But her students don’t complain – many have walked away with hand-knit hats, scarves or socks.

Annie lives in Schenectady, NY with her dog, Lucky.

Samantha "Sam" Henrikson is happy to join the International Student and Scholar Services office. Although born and raised in the capital region, Sam considers the world her backyard!

While in college, she discovered her love for travel and meeting people from other cultures. She spent a semester abroad in Gold Coast, Australia and later on she spent a summer in Valencia, Spain. Her sojourns overseas help her to realize she wanted to work with people from around the world which is why she is now a graduate student in the TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) program at the University at Albany.

Samantha has traveled to other counties including Germany, England, and in 2010 she returned to Spain for a second trip that included a stop to the Canary Islands. Next on her list of places to go is New Zealand and Fiji. Outside of work and school, Sam loves running, yoga, Zumba, and spending time with family and friends.

Mary Anne Smith joined the Office of International Education in 2007. She provides administrative support to both International Student & Scholar Services and Study Abroad & Exchanges.

Mary Anne holds a B.S. in Business Administration from the University of LaVerne in LaVerne, California. She had a long career as a telecommunications manager in California before retiring in 2002. She also worked at California State Polytechnic University in Pomona, California prior to re-locating to the Capital Region where she grew up.

Mary Anne loves to travel. Her travels have taken her to England, France, Mexico, the Caribbean, and many locations throughout the United States including Hawaii.

Mary Anne and her husband live in Clifton Park.

Michelle Huang (officially Yang Huang) is a graduate student from China. She joined the Office of International Student and Scholar Services in May 2010.

Michelle is pursuing her Master's degree in the field of Education at University of Albany. Michelle enjoys watching movies, cooking and playing the piano.

April Mead is a graduate student from upstate New York. She has worked for International Student and Scholar Services since January 2012.

In the fall, April will be entering her fifth year of study at the University at Albany. She received her B.A. in Spanish in May 2011, and is currently pursuing a Master's Degree in Secondary Education.

April enjoys traveling; she has traveled throughout the United States and has been to Canada, Mexico, Argentina, and Chile.