Introducing Fran O’Neill, your On-Site Program Coordinator!

Originally from Chester, England, Fran now lives in Toulouse, in the south of France. In 2009, Fran graduated from Lancaster University, England with a degree in Psychology. She has pursued various jobs since, but has always wanted to have the opportunity to use her travel experience and share her enthusiasm for it with others! Before attending university, Fran travelled to South America where she worked as a volunteer teaching English to young children and helped with conservation and building projects. It was here that she developed a real passion for traveling and a want to discover the world. After university, she visited various countries including Sri Lanka, Australia, New Zealand and Fiji, and she has also been to the United States, Africa and many European countries.  Fran very much enjoys all kinds of sports, especially water sports and snow sports, and has recently become a keen triathlete. You can often find her cycling or running around the parks and canals of Toulouse and swimming in the nearby lakes!

Fran is one of CISabroad’s most experienced Onsite Program Coordinators having led numerous programs in France, England, Germany, Belgium, The Netherlands,  Switzerland, Austria, and Ireland.

What’s an OPC? 

As part of your customized faculty-led program abroad, you will be led and supported by a CISabroad On-Site Program Coordinator (OPC). OPCs are experienced and well trained staff members, there to ensure the schedule goes according to plan. Each OPC attends an extensive training program that involves a range of modules – risk management, emergency response, safety, logistics’, cultural awareness, communication, culture shock, budgeting, social media, La Vida Local and customer service.

The primary role of the OPC is to facilitate the in-country implementation of the assigned customized program, by providing safety / emergency response and logistical support. During the program, the OPC is responsible for managing the day-to-day logistics of the assigned customized program and providing in-country support to both the faculty and students. Using personal travel experience, professional work experience (and where possible language knowledge), the OPC will help create a program environment that is safe and culturally engaging. The CISabroad OPC may or may not be an in country local. The majority of CISabroad OPCs are expats from the US, who have travelled, lived, volunteered, or worked abroad in the program destination.

The OPC is not a registered tour guide nor expected to provide tours of sites visited during the program. If the program is one that requires specific guided tours of various sites, these will be provided separately. The OPC provides a general neighborhood walking tour to help the group identify the nearest bank/ATM, pharmacy, laundry-mat, grocery store and other similar conveniences.

The OPC’s role allows Faculty to focus on the academic objectives and the students to make the most of their time overseas!