Hayley Harpur, On-Site Program Coordinator (OPC)

Hayley grew up and went to school in the small town of George which is situated in the most beautiful part of South Africa – the Garden Route. Upon completing school her passion for sports and being active took her to the UK for a year where she coached sport and was fortunate enough to spend some time traveling around Europe. These travels instilled a desire to travel further and she returned to SA to study Travel & Tourism Management. Upon completing her degree she headed off to the island of Mauritius for a year and then back to SA to work in the tourism industry at Sun City Resort in what is known as the Highveld. Having grown up surrounded by mountains and sea Hayley always longed to return to the Cape and after four years at Sun City this wish came true and she now happily calls the Western Cape home.

Being a very active person Hayley loves trail running, rock climbing, hiking, gardening and has recently become rather addicted to yoga. When her batteries need a recharge she enjoys visiting the unlimited number of wine farms, markets, restaurants and cultural attractions on her doorstep and gets great pleasure out of sharing these attractions and activities with others. She cannot wait for you to arrive in SA so that you can begin your journey with her through the most beautiful and diverse country in the world!

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!