When Huaichen Chu set a goal as a teenager to visit all 50 states in America, he didn’t know he was going to be a teacher someday, but when he became a teacher six years ago, he discovered his visits to Ellis Island, the Liberty Bell, Gateway Arch and Washington, D.C. made him a better teacher.

“Because I've traveled a lot and seen all these things and read a lot about these places, I'm able to share with my students, firsthand, my knowledge and make the lessons more vibrant and more exciting for them,” he said.

Angela Drope, who teaches with Chu at Columbia Elementary, said his diverse experiences tie-in to many of the topics covered in third grade.

“He is able to tell the students about the places he’s been and help them make real-life connections to the places we learn about in our Language Arts curriculum,” she said.

Chu shares stories of his family’s experiences as Chinese Americans when the students study immigration and his personal account of living in New York City on 9/11 when discussing historic events.

Chu hopes sharing these experiences with his students helps them begin to understand how big the world really is.

Huaichen Chu visits the Bonneville Salt Flats in 2022. He moved to Utah three years ago to enjoy the variety of landscapes. (Photo courtesy Huaichen Chu)

 “The United States, from corner to corner, it's just so vast and so different, and the world's so big, and that's kind of how I view the world and then eventually that translates to me as a teacher,” Chu said. “Because the students I teach, they're 8 and 9 years old, their world really is where their parents take them and so mostly it's just revolving around the Salt Lake Valley. Some of them have visited Vegas, or if they've been to California, it's usually they've been to Disneyland. But I want to instill in them that the world is much bigger than that.”

Chu traveled a lot as a child but it was a cross-country road trip from New Jersey to California that inspired him to visit all 50 states. He checked off the final five states (Tennessee, Kentucky, Arkansas, Mississippi and Louisiana) this summer.

“Before I went to the South, I thought maybe some of the cities weren’t safe, or the people weren't going to be friendly, but I have really fond memories of Mississippi and Louisiana, especially Mississippi,” he said.

While visiting the state capitol building in Jackon, Mississippi, Chu struck up a conversation with a volunteer who gave him an impactful personal tour of the building.

Chu visits as many state capitol buildings, national parks, historic sites and landmarks as he can on his trips. He also likes to hike to take in the scenery and local wildlife and to walk around a city to get a sense of the people and atmosphere. He particularly enjoys visiting popular spots and tourist traps (his favorite is Wall Drug in South Dakota.)

“In general, I've done something significant and memorable in every single state I've been to,” he said.

Sometimes it’s the food that is most memorable.

“I will literally eat anything as long as I see other people are eating it,” Chu said. “There are definitely some foods that are kind of gimmicky, that only a tourist would go after, but I still have to try it because it's famous for some reason, right? That's really my mentality.”

Meeting people from other places, and discovering what they have in common, is one of Chu’s favorite parts of traveling.

“I think, at the end of the day, everyone I've met is different fundamentally, but also similar, and so we can talk about the same things, about different foods and cultures,” he said. “Through all my travels, I found that common ground. And most of the people I've met, they're very easy to talk to.”

Third-grader teacher Huaichen Chu visits Whittier, Alaska during the summer of 2024 as part of his goal to visit all 50 states in the U.S. (Photo courtesy Huaichen Chu)

Now that he has achieved his goal of visiting all 50 states, his next ambition is to visit every National Park—he has already visited 33 of the 63. After that, he hopes to explore abroad—he has only visited three other countries.

“I'm utilizing all my breaks as a teacher, which I'm very fortunate to have summer breaks, so I’ve got a lot of time I can do a lot of traveling to South America or Europe—those are hopefully coming down the pipeline,” he said.

Chu is well-liked by students and teachers. Colleagues praise his level-headedness, politeness, quick wit and high expectations for his students’ learning and behavior.

“He has a calm personality that really helps students when they are dysregulated," third grade teacher Michelle Collings said. “Even though his voice is calm, his students know he is serious.”

While Chu never planned on becoming a teacher, he said even after six years, he still wakes up excited to go to work each morning.

“Originally, teaching was, like, I would teach them math, or I would teach them how to read,” he said. “But as the years have gone by, it's really that you’ve got to teach them some life skills, too, just instilling in them that you can't give up so easily. Like when reading something is difficult, you’ve got to keep pushing through. I feel like it's very meaningful for me to work with these students. Seeing them jump reading levels from the beginning of the year to the end of the school year—it's just really awesome to see how happy they are. I feel like teaching just brings a lot of joy to me.”