“Parents have a significant impact on the value system and the ideological system that children develop over time. We’re all impacted by the messages that we hear growing up in our parents’ home,” McAninch said.

Ramsey is a sophomore from Waco studying economics and international studies in Arabic. Ramsey went to Amman, Jordan, with Qasid, an Arabic Institute Program running from June through August. But she didn’t suspect the challenges and conflicts that would occur in the coming days.

Although the war seems like it could be worlds away, it impacts Baylor students in a more personal way than most generally assume — particularly in the grocery store runs, Stolze said.

“Any kind of medical volunteering is very highly considered by medical schools, especially if you’re investing so much time,” Selkin said. “A week may not seem like a long time, but you are investing a week of your summer to go to a foreign country, probably somewhere that you’ve never been before, maybe a language that you don’t speak. That is a great chance to talk about cultural immersion and diversity. It’s a great opportunity to expand not only what you know but to see what else is out there.”