Looking through the lens at a young woman's journey from the Midwest to the Middle East and around the world

Ashli Wallace:

It's a good thing to know who you are and be comfortable in your own skin. Many of us struggle to find that proper balance our entire lives. A young Malden native learned that lesson early on in life, and that's what will take her halfway around the world in just a few days, for a crucial new chapter in her life.

Rewind: When Ashli Wallace, now 23, was just 12, she began backpacking around the globe with her father, Steve Wallace. Wallace, the retired co-owner of the Wallace and Owens grocery store chain, has always been a photography buff, even putting in a home darkroom when he was in high school. For some reason that even Ashli can't quite figure out, she was the only one of her three siblings, all sisters, who liked to tag along with her father on these trips, snapping images in countries scattered across Europe, Scandinavia, Asia, Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Africa. She fondly remembers these treks as a wonderful bonding time with her father. Mr. Wallace calls his daughter his "traveling buddy. She's willing to go to the 'rough places, and beat the back woods' with me," he said. Ashli is also the daughter of Judy Wallace, of Dexter.

Ashli Brooke Wallace

When it was time for college, Ashli began pursuing an undergraduate History degree at Sontbonne University in Clayton, Mo., a St. Louis suburb. One semester, while taking a bunch of advanced history classes, she decided to throw in a darkroom class. From then on, she was hooked. Ashli said that, pretty much up until that time, her camerawork had only involved little "point and shoot" cameras. She said she loved the darkroom class so much, she decided to change her career focus, altogether. Wallace transferred to Webster University in St. Louis, enrolling in the School of Communications and Photography. In the summer of 2012, she had the opportunity to take further photography courses, as well as general coursework, in Thailand, as part of Webster's students-abroad series. In May of last year, Wallace graduated with a Bachelor's Degree in Commercial Photography. Since then, she has worked to make ends meet by picking up assorted freelance jobs, including portraits photography.

Her efforts to make it as a full-time photographer got quite a boost two months ago, when she was selected as a new Resident Artist at the esteemed Soulard Art Market and Contemporary Art Gallery in St. Louis, voted in by 12 of her peers. Soulard is a historic, renovated French neighborhood in the city, heavily populated by artists, musicians, large community events and the well-known Soulard Farmers' Market. Wallace said she was thrilled with the honor, because the Soulard Art Market is such an innovative and respected gallery, and the only one of its type in the area with a resident artist program. The market also features juried exhibitions on a monthly basis, which steadily draw large crowds. Wallace hopes her residency there will give her career the visibility it needs right now. However, in a little less than two weeks, on Sept. 4, Wallace will have to leave her gallery work behind temporarily, as she heads for the east African nation of Tanzania.

Another rewind: In January, on one of her trips abroad with her father, this time to Sub-Saharan Africa, Wallace met a safari driver, after climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro. The two later connected on Facebook, and the driver suggested she do some teaching. To make a long story short, Wallace ended up teaching a two-week photography workshop to students at the Sotwa Wilson Primary School (K-8) in the city of Arusha, in northeastern Tanzania. Wallace said she was honored to teach the students these career skills, because "children there inevitably grow up only making handicrafts for tourists. This, on the other hand, is an art and skill they can live off all their lives." By the time her two-week stint was up, she said she was heartbroken, having so quickly fallen in love with the children. "I bawled like a baby at the airport," she remembered.

As it ended up, her goodbye's wouldn't last for long. Officials at the Sotwa Wilson School were so impressed with her work, they have invited her back to officially start the school's new Art Department. She will remain in Arusha for three months, getting the program started and also training two local residents to take it over when she leaves, just before Christmas of this year.

When asked whether her father would accompany her on this latest journey, Wallace said no. "He told me I need to do these trips by myself, for awhile." Mr. Wallace, who lives in the Phillipines now, but always travels back to the family's homeplace in Malden whenever Ashli can get a break to visit there, said, "I started taking her on these backpacking trips, to broaden her perspective about the world." But now, he figures it's time for her to fly solo, and he is very proud of all the work she is doing to give back to the world. He hopes she can eventually live abroad, supporting herself as a travel photographer.

There's not much of the globe the father and daughter pair haven't already seen together. Of all the places they've visited, both call the Mideast their favorite, in countries such as Jordan and Syria. In fact, their trip to Syria occurred shortly before the civil war broke out there, three years ago. Virtually the only continent they haven't really touched yet is South America. "I've been thinking about Machu Picchu for about five years now," Mr. Wallace said. Machu Picchu is the ancient Incan site, high atop the mountains in Peru. "Maybe Ashli will have to do that one for me."