Valley High School graduate, and Penn State junior, Tierra Oliver long dreamed of visiting Egypt and experiencing Middle Eastern culture firsthand.
She got both more and less than she bargained for, thanks to the street protests that eventually brought down the 30-year reign of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.
Oliver, 21, of Lower Burrell arrived in Egypt on Jan. 18 to begin a semester-long study abroad program at American University in Cairo. Protests broke out a week later.
Oliver lived on campus in New Cairo, a neighborhood about a half-hour from Tahrir Square, the epicenter of the protests. She said no rioting happened near the campus, but travel was curtailed due to curfews and the location of protesters.
"There was no going into the city without going through the protests," she said. "I was pretty much surrounded by it."
Oliver said she never feared for her safety.
"The protests weren't about America," she said. "This was an Egyptian revolution for the Egyptian people."
Oliver said she would have preferred to stay in Cairo, but Penn State officials phoned her about 2:30 a.m. Feb. 1 and told her to prepare to evacuate. The U.S. State Department had issued a travel advisory and noted the possibility for disruption of air travel.
Oliver said she and a few other students were flown that day to Athens. Two days later, she was on an overnight flight to London.
Oliver's father, Shawn Cunningham of Lower Burrell, said he and his wife, LeeAnn Cunningham had confidence in Oliver's ability to handle herself, but they felt helpless knowing she was more than 6,000 miles away in a volatile foreign country.
"The first few days (of the protests) were rough because we didn't have an opportunity to talk to her, and she couldn't get in touch with us," Cunningham said. "She was able to call us one day, but the phone shut off after about three minutes."
The Egyptian government at times blocked telephone and Internet communication in an attempt to disrupt the protestors' ability to organize.
"You worry about your kids when they go out with their friends," Cunningham said. "Just try to imagine that by about a hundred-fold."
Cunningham said Penn State officials kept the family apprised of their efforts to evacuate Oliver and her classmates.
"It was the sweetest thing I ever heard, to hear her voice and know she was OK," Cunningham said.
Not ready to end her study-abroad experience, Oliver opted to complete the semester at the University of Leeds in northern England.
She would have preferred to stay in the Middle East or Africa but she said the only other option was a college in Morocco, which didn't offer classes compatible with her major of crime, law and justice.
Even though her time was cut short in Egypt, Oliver said it was inspirational to have been in the country during a momentous event.
"To live through something like that? People were fighting for fundamental rights," Oliver said. "Just to see the people so passionate, it was amazing.
"What was even more prominent was their determination and their sense of pride," she added. "They have hearts of gold. People died during this revolution. But even through that, their optimism was prevalent."
Despite the sleepless nights, Cunningham said he also is glad Oliver got to experience a piece of history and is seeing more of the world.
"I've been very proud of what she's been able to accomplish in her life," he said. "I can remember when Tierra was young, she used to always talk about studying abroad and traveling.
"I'm sure when the smoke clears, she'll have aspirations of going back to Egypt," he said. "I'll support her whenever she does."
Oliver, who is studying Arabic, said she has long been enthralled by Egyptian culture.
"I wanted to learn about the Middle East and its place in the world without the influence of Western culture."
Oliver, a junior at Penn State, said she eventually would like to work in the Foreign Service and go to law school.
"One day I have to get back to Egypt," she said. "Hopefully, I'll return sooner rather than later."