When Associate Professor Judithanne Scourfield McLauchlan reached her 50th state this year, she paused to reflect on the country she鈥檚 spent decades studying, teaching and exploring. The milestone felt less like the end of a travel goal and more like an opportunity to consider what those miles had taught her about America 鈥 its history, its complexity and the shared values she sees in her work every day.
Her adventure started before she could walk.
鈥淚t all started with my parents,鈥 said McLauchlan, who teaches political science in the USF College of Arts and Sciences. 鈥淢y father served two tours in Vietnam, and before he went off to war to fight for our country, my parents thought, 鈥榃hy don鈥檛 we see the country that we鈥檙e going to fight for?鈥欌
That question set the family on the road and helped McLauchlan visit 17 states before she turned three years old. The cross-country road trips became an annual tradition for the family 鈥 one McLauchlan later continued with her own family.
The annual cross-country road trips continued with her own family, creating new memories and carrying the tradition into another generation.
After reaching 47 states, she hit a wall.
鈥淚鈥檝e traveled a lot, I鈥檝e been to a lot of places, and I really wanted to go to all 50 states,鈥 she said. 鈥淏ut I was kind of stuck at 47 for at least 10 years.鈥
Although visiting every state is a common bucket鈥憀ist goal for Americans, it鈥檚 far from easy. According to The Washington Post, only 1-2% of Americans have visited all 50 states 鈥 but McLauchlan had only three left to go: Michigan, Alaska and North Dakota.
(Left) Judithanne Scourfield McLauchlan on a glacier tour in Alaska after presenting at a conference in Canada. (Right) McLauchlan on the shores of Lake Michigan.(Left) Judithanne Scourfield McLauchlan on a glacier tour in Alaska after presenting at a conference in Canada. (Right) McLauchlan on the shores of Lake Michigan.
After checking off Michigan and Alaska during work trips in 2024 and 2025, only North Dakota remained, but getting there proved harder than it sounded. McLauchlan was in the middle of a Fulbright in Uganda while juggling research projects, a book contract and looming deadlines.
"I kept thinking, maybe I just can鈥檛 get to North Dakota. What am I doing? I have work I have to do,鈥 she said. 鈥淏ut then I thought, no 鈥 if I鈥檓 going to do it, now is the time.鈥 So, she cashed in her frequent鈥慺lier miles and hotel points and booked the trip.
Since North Dakota is often the final continental stop for travelers aiming to visit all 50 states, the state created a 鈥淏est for Last鈥 club to celebrate those who, like McLauchlan, finish their journey there.
鈥淎nd I had a marvelous time,鈥 McLauchlan said. 鈥淚 had two full days there, but I packed it in. I must have driven 1,500 miles, crisscrossing the state.鈥 From the Ronald Reagan Minuteman missile silo to the world鈥檚 largest cow, she squeezed in as many local stops as two days would allow."
鈥淚 had no idea I was going to become so invested in North Dakota,鈥 she said. 鈥淏ut that鈥檚 the beauty of travel. You think, oh, it鈥檚 North Dakota 鈥 what鈥檚 out there? And then suddenly there are all kinds of interesting things to do.鈥
During her travels, McLauchlan sought out the places where history was made 鈥 history she teaches her students every semester. She visited the former Topeka school at the center of Brown v. Board of Education, the New Orleans courthouse where Plessy v. Ferguson was first argued and Fort Snelling in Minnesota, tied to the Dred Scott case.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 feel like I can fully understand some of these concepts without traveling there,鈥 she said. 鈥淲hen you鈥檙e on the ground and seeing the artifacts and hearing the oral histories, it changes how you teach and how you think about American government.鈥
Those experiences continue to reinforce a lesson she brings to her students: visiting places and talking to people is essential to understanding the country and the perspectives shaped by its history. And after a lifetime of crisscrossing the map, she鈥檚 gained a firsthand perspective of how the nation has shifted since those early road trips in the backseat of her parents鈥 car.
鈥淥bviously it鈥檚 very different now than it was when I was a kid,鈥 she said. 鈥淏ut from a road鈥憈rip perspective, the heart of it feels the same 鈥 getting out of your bubble, meeting people, learning things you didn鈥檛 expect.鈥
What has changed, she added, is the urgency behind that kind of travel.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not just exploring for the sake of exploring, even though that curiosity is important. It鈥檚 also about protecting our democracy. It鈥檚 about protecting the core values we share, appreciating where other people are coming from, learning from their lived experiences, and finding common ground with people who are different from us.鈥
Her 50-state journey reinforced one founding ideal above all: E Pluribus Unum 鈥 out of many, one.
鈥淓ach state has its own history, constitution, government and traditions,鈥 she said. 鈥淵et we aspire to be united. In a time of deep divisions, exploring this great nation, meeting people who are different and learning more about our history is essential.鈥
Dr. Scourfield McLauchlan lecturing at the 2026 Civics Institute on the Florida judiciary system. [Photo courtesy of Corey Lepak]
As the nation approaches its 250th anniversary, McLauchlan sees the milestone as an invitation to do exactly what her travels have taught her: look closely at who we are, what we share and how far we鈥檝e come. Through her work with Florida Humanities, the U.S. Department of State and her upcoming America250 lectures across the state, she hopes to help others engage with the country as deeply as she has.
鈥淎merica250 shouldn鈥檛 be just about waving flags and fireworks and things 鈥 it鈥檚 about our country and what it stands for,鈥 McLauchlan said.
鈥淲hat we have here 鈥 our constitutional democracy 鈥 is very special. It is unique and it is priceless and it is something that we need to protect.鈥
This fall, she鈥檒l continue that work through Constitution Day and National Voter Registration Day events with the Center for Civic Engagement, where she serves as director. Her goal is to encourage students to reflect on citizenship, civic responsibility and the founding ideals that will carry Americans from this anniversary through to the 250th anniversary of the Constitution in 2037.
For her, that protection begins with understanding 鈥 the kind that comes from stepping outside familiar routines and seeing the country up close.
鈥淚 think that鈥檚 the joy of travel and the importance of getting outside of your own bubble is to meet new people, learn new things about our history and culture, and to learn about things outside your scope of what you think you know,鈥 McLauchlan said.
鈥淯ntil you鈥檙e out there, you don鈥檛 know what you don鈥檛 know. You need to go out and experience it.鈥