One Allegheny student was recently forced to leave Amman, Jordan, where she was studying abroad this semester, due to U.S. military action against Iran that has escalated into a wider regional conflict.

Chloe Snyder, ’27, an international studies major with a focus in Middle East and North African studies and a minor in political science, arrived in Jordan in mid-February.

Three weeks later, on February 28, the U.S. and Israel launched targeted attacks on Iran’s military infrastructure and government leadership, ultimately killing Iran’s supreme leader in the first wave of strikes.

“I remember waking up to that news and just, like, my heart kind of sank because it was, like, oh, no, it’s so horrible on the human front, obviously,” Snyder said. “And you do wonder about the implications that that will have on the (study abroad) program.”

Iran responded to the attacks by launching strikes on neighboring Gulf countries, including Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

“Stuff started snowballing from there,” Snyder said.

The State Department upgraded Jordan to a Level 3 risk on March 2, indicating that Americans should “reconsider” their travel to the country due to “serious risks to safety and security,” including terrorism and armed conflict.

That day, Snyder’s study abroad program, the Council on International Education Exchange, called an emergency meeting of all its students studying in Jordan.

“There was a lot of confusion at first,” Snyder said. “My parents were really concerned.”

CIEE announced that the Jordan program would close, but that all nine students in Snyder’s cohort had the option to transfer to another CIEE program in Rabat, Morocco.

“Everyone was really heartbroken,” Snyder said.

Throughout the process, Snyder said the Global Education Office kept in contact with her and that several professors independently reached out as well.

Provost Celia Cook-Huffman said the Global Education Office closely tracks State Department updates and works closely with program providers who have local expertise to monitor geopolitical situations around the globe. In this case, the office was in regular contact with CIEE, which kept the group updated on their program transfer plans — often late into the night.

“I don’t think there was ever any sense that there was an imminent threat, but as it became clear that the conflict was going to escalate and think about that — you know, within the region — what does that look like? I think that’s what then drove the decision to say, yeah, we need to move students out of this region and further away from where the conflict could escalate potentially,” Cook-Huffman said.

Snyder spent just under one month in Jordan before her abrupt departure.

“Jordan was really amazing,” Snyder said. “I loved Amman. It was the most beautiful city, it had a great skyline. There was a lot of stuff to do.”

Despite the outbreak of military action in the region, Snyder said not everyone seemed concerned.

“A lot of people in Amman just kind of treated it like business as usual and were kind of surprised that we were all leaving because they didn’t seem to think that it was a very big deal,” Snyder said. “It’s like, ‘Oh, this happens sometimes.’”

Though some in the region are angry with the action of the U.S., Snyder said she has not been on the receiving end of any ugly interactions.

“People here are very good at separating governments from individuals,” Snyder said. “So, people have still been very nice to me and the other students about, like, asking where we’re from, all of that, and not directing their anger at the U.S. at us.”

When Snyder spoke with The Campus on Wednesday, March 11, about her experience, she had been in Morocco for less than 72 hours. Her first three days went well, despite Rabat’s differences to Amman. Its desert climate and smaller size were an adjustment, but Snyder had already enjoyed exploring the traditional Moroccan architecture.

Thanks to modern technology, Snyder will continue most of her Amman-based classes she began in Jordan — only 2,000 miles away over video conference. Though her Jordanian dialect Arabic class shifted to a Moroccan dialect class, her other classes remain the same.

In addition to CIEE Amman, Allegheny also offers a study abroad program at the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies in Kibbutz Ketura, Israel — though Cook-Huffman said the program has been on pause for the past several years.

Associate Provost Rachel Weir told The Campus that she recently discussed the future of the Israel and Jordan programs with Assistant Dean for Global Education Casey Gardner and said that they will monitor the viability of the programs for the fall 2026 semester.

For now, Snyder will experience the rest of her time abroad in Rabat, Morocco.

“I’m just glad that I got to continue,” Snyder said. “It was just, it was bizarre to be an American, knowing that America started this war and sort of being in a country that’s being kind of indirectly impacted by that, was just, it was a very odd feeling.”