Introducing Consuelo Cannuscio!
Consuelo earned her Master’s Degree in Advanced Translation from the University of Bologna, Italy. Travel has always been an active component of her life, and she spent her senior year of high school in North Carolina, with a home-stay program. She has traveled several times in England, where she eventually co-led a summer abroad program for Italian students. As an European citizen, Consuelo has travelled extensively around Europe, visiting Germany, Belgium, France, Spain, Portugal, Luxembourg, Denmark, the Netherlands and Austria. She is currently studying and teaching Italian at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, where she was previously an exchange student. Consuelo is proud to call the United States her “second home”.
Consuelo grew up in Sicily, Italy’s largest region, and loves to return every year to visit her family and cat! She looks forward to leading your group on a great adventure in her homeland, where she is sure that you will leave with an unforgettable gastronomic portrait of one the most vibrant and flavorful regions in Italy!
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!