Teacher and traveler: Dr. Hucks and his wife roadtrip across the states
Karis Brady, Contributing Writer
Photo courtesy of Robert Hucks
Robert Hucks, professor of marketing at North Greenville University, has set a goal with his wife of 40 years to travel to all 50 states.
It started when they were sitting at home. He could teach classes from anywhere because he was doing it remotely at the time. So, they bought an RV and began their journey across the United States during the time where they did not have to work in person.
“We decided that we would divide the United States up into five sections,” Hucks said.
They soon after added a sixth section, Alaska, which will be their last stop after visiting the other 49 states. Then they will sell their RV and fly home to start a new adventure.
“The reason that we do it by RV in all 50 states is it’s cold and you can’t see things like this and stay at places like this staying at a hotel”, Hucks said.
He and his wife still have everything that they could need and more on their RV, including a queen size bed, large TV and a refrigerator.
They started at Mile Marker One. They went from South Carolina to the Key West on their first part of this quest. After that trip, they continued to travel in between his classes, whether it be on the weekends or during breaks.
“Day after commencement the next year, we took off to the northeast,” Hucks said.
Hucks ended up retiring from his 15-year job as a professor at Bob Jones University. This was his second retirement, as he previously worked in a corporate job for 25 years. They traveled for a long time all over the United States in their RV.
His favorite place was the badlands, yet also the opportunity to visit the places where his wife grew up.
“This is where the speed bump hit,” Hucks explained.
He realized that he wanted to teach permanently, and soon after, he called John Duncan, dean of the college of Business and Entrepreneurship at NGU. He fell in love with the teaching profession all over again as a visiting professor the following fall.
“I do care about [students] and want them to do well, so I am going to be hard on them,” Hucks said.
He said loves his job as a professor in the college of business and wants to teach students how to succeed past graduation.
“A lot of the activities and things that he has us do are grounded in real world activities,” Embre Todd, senior marketing major at NGU, said.
His experience in the corporate world influences his teaching, just as his love for travel plays a part in his role even as a professor at NGU.
“My wife and I travel a lot. We do the study abroad and travel all over the world and have for most of my career,” he said.
While they travel during the year around the United States, they particularly enjoy taking a group of students from NGU to Europe each summer to the University of Porta, where they can take a three week intensive class.
Hucks said he wants everyone to know about the study abroad. This opportunity to earn six credit hours over the summer at a top-tier university is open to all, not just business students.
His love for traveling is evident, and his determination to finish this trip remains the same.
“When my wife and I start something, we always finish it,” he said.
