At first, it may look like another mural painted on a wall. But for students in an English Club in Ecuador, it means much more.

Their creation is part of the Peace Corps World Map Project, led locally in part by volunteer Marissa Schaefer, daughter of Fredrick and Julie Schaefer, Hidden Valley Lake.

“My Dearborn County ties are relatively new, as my parents moved to Hidden Valley Lake around six years ago,” said Schaefer, 27, by email from Ecuador.

Born in Cincinnati, Schaeffer graduated from Milford High School, but lived with her parents in HVL while attending college.

She earned a bachelors degree in Spanish and International Studies from Northern Kentucky University and a masters in education from Xavier University.
After graduating from college, she decided to join the Peace Corps instead of heading straight into the workforce, said Schaefer.

“I wanted an adventure, I wanted to travel, and more than anything I wanted to do something bigger than me. I needed a different purpose, and I knew that I have my whole life to work and earn money, so why not do something different?,” she said.