When Jolee, my 20-year-old daughter and Ohio State buckeye, announced she was going to Uganda for nearly seven weeks this summer, my first thought was for her safety, naturally. She wouldn’t be alone once she landed in East Africa, but getting there and back on many planes … large and small … well, she was on her own.

Once I wrapped my head around that terrifying aspect, my excitement for her began to build. I understood her need for travel and adventure. After all, when I was her age I was a military journalist stationed in Germany, and traveled to multiple countries during the five years I lived there.

Traveling is actually in her genes. When she was a sophomore at the Toledo School for the Arts, she joined her sister, Quinn, on her senior trip to Australia for two weeks. We have also been to Cape Cod, Las Vegas and Disney multiple times. It’s what we do.

But this fellowship opportunity was bigger, more dangerous and more important than those vacation destinations. So, obviously, her trip had to be documented. Because I was a photojournalist with the Toledo Blade at the time (I’ve since retired), I pitched her story to the features editor, and her freelance assignment was approved.

I’m very proud of Jolee’s need for helping people with their mental health issues across the world, and I’m grateful she agreed to share her experience with the Blade. Storytelling is in my blood, and I hope she has inherited that from me.

So, without further ado … I introduce to you Jolee’s story.