Madeline Marquardt is a writer, photographer, and paddler currently based in Grand Marais, Minnesota. She has worked as a sea kayaking guide in the Apostle Islands, English teacher in Armenia, and paddled and hiked extensively throughout the Lake Superior Region and state of Michigan. You can find her at madelinemarquardt.com, where she writes about the outdoors and adventure travel.

Note: This interview is part of a series from Learning Service.

If your child has announced a desire to join the Peace Corps in Guatemala, it has probably weighed at least a little heavily on your mind. 

There are many risks, dangers, and unknowns that your child will face. As their parent, you are naturally worried for their health, safety, and overall well-being. It is easy to feel helpless, especially since they will be so far away and out of your reach. 

What would you do if your whole world was disappearing inch by inch… day by day… week by week… month by month… year by year? Would you try and save it? Would you tell others about it?

Would you resign to accepting fate, as many tell you to do?  

What if your life was not the only life in danger? What if your entire family’s lives were in danger?  What if the danger threatened your friends, neighbors, workmates lives, everyone you knew?

What if there were no way to stop the danger?