Introducing Your Onsite Program Coordinator!

Melissa Topacio-Long, your OPC!

Melissa graduated from the School for International Training with an M.A. in International Education; she earned her B.A. in English from Lewis and Clark College. She spent a semester studying abroad in Nancy, France and, upon graduation, returned to France to work as an English conversation teacher for seven months in the city of Nice. She has been a summer group leader in France for four groups of high school students, which allowed her to visit much of the French south and the northwest. She has traveled throughout Latin America, Europe, and parts of Asia and Northern Africa. Since 2011, Melissa has lived in Marrakech, Morocco, where she began a small student exchange program. She speaks French and Spanish and is learning Moroccan Arabic.

Melissa will travel with your group during your entire program and will be there to support you in every way possible. Her role is to ensure your program abroad is safe, meaningful and positive. She looks forward to meeting you and getting to know you soon.

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! In some countries you may also get to meet CISabroad’s site director – who serves as additional back-up/emergency support!

Nicoletta Marchionne, CISabroad Site Director

Nicoletta Marchionne was born and grew up in Rome. Nicoletta studied French and French culture since high school and fell in love with Paris years ago and has been a frequent visitor to the “City of Lights” ever since; she is curious, energetic, and passionate for International Education and most of all is looking forward to sharing the beauties of Paris with you and make sure you get the most out of your experience abroad.

She studied international relations at RomaTre university, and it was here, during her college years that Nicoletta discovered her interest for study abroad: Through an internship program with an American Study Abroad Program she worked as a cultural mediator and Student Life /Housing assistant supervisor for over 2 years.

In 2013 Nicoletta joined the Pantheon Institute in Rome as housing and student life assistant; and left her home country in 2014 for Cork, Ireland to work as branch manager for EazyCity, a company which provides housing and other on site services to International students and travellers. Confident that the field of international education is where she belongs, she is thrilled to move to Paris to start a new amazing adventure as a CIS site director.